Photo: Chris Farina / Top Rank Promotions
Pound-for-pound boxer Terence Crawford’s imminent move to the welterweight division will see him relinquish his stranglehold on all four world title belts at 140 pounds. Jose Ramirez is looking to snag one of those up.
The 2012 U.S. Olympian will take on Mike Reed in a battle of undefeated top prospects as the main event of the Nov. 11 ESPN Top Rank boxing card at the Save Mart Center in Fresno. Ramirez’ WBC Continental Americas title will be on the line, with the winner likely to challenge for one of the 140-lb. belts soon to be vacated by Crawford.
Ramirez (20-0, 15 KO) last fought May 5 in Reno, NV, earning a second-round TKO victory over tough veteran Jake Giuriceo.
“I’m ready to show the world how hard I have worked and trained for this moment,” Ramirez said. “And to do it at home for my city — to bring awareness to our immigration issues and to get the Temperance Flat dam built for water storage, makes it that much more important to me.”
Coming off a unanimous decision over Robert Frankel in August, Reed (23-0, 12 KO) will be looking to play spoiler in Fresno, where Ramirez, a nearby Avenal native, has become a local star.
WBO junior featherweight champion Jessie Magdaleno will defend his title against No. 1 contender Cesar Juarez in the co-main event. An IBF light heavyweight world title eliminator bout between Artur Beterbiev and Enrico Koelling is also scheduled for the televised portion of the card.
Tickets for the event are priced at $150, $88, $58 and $33 and can be purchased at select Save Mart Supermarkets, online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 or at the Save Mart Center Box Office.
