How up-and-coming Jose Ramirez is striving to be more than just a boxer

The overwhelming majority of residents of the working-class city of Avenal, Calif., labor in the fields in farm-related jobs, or in jobs that have some connection to farming.

The Ramirez family was no different.

Carlos Ramirez worked the fields for decades, ever since he was a young man, picking tomatoes, lettuce, watermelons, anything that was in season. His wife, Juanita, worked for Paramount Farms, picking pistachios.

Their children, too, were involved out of necessity. It was, in many ways, the family business.

Jose Ramirez was in high school in 2008, and already was showing immense potential as a boxer. It was clear by that point that boxing could be the way out for Ramirez, but his athletic ability didn't keep him from the grind in the blistering heat of the farming fields in California’s Central Valley.

Even though he'd go on to earn a berth on the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team and become one of the sport's most promising pro prospects, Ramirez wasn't treated any differently than anyone else.

Money was tight, as it always had been, and the extra income he could provide by working a few hours a week would help his family immensely.

So when school was out in the spring of 2008, Jose trekked to the fields, as the others in his family did, to spend his summer vacation working on the farms. He was picking almonds and peppers, among other things.

That experience shaped him for the rest of his life, even if it didn't involve throwing a hook or hitting a bag.

"I was young, 15 and a half, maybe 16, and I had a ton of energy," he said. "But I remember that summer, it was so hot. One day, it was a little over 100 degrees and it was really hard for me to concentrate on doing my work because of the extreme heat. I felt like I was dying, and I looked around and there were these older ladies, in their 60s, some of them in their mid-50s, late 50s, and they were doing the same job I was.

"I watched them working so hard, doing what they could to feed their families. That has stayed with me ever since. I worked from 6 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, and I went home and then I had to go to boxing practice at 4:45. I told my mother, 'Damn, Mom, this isn't easy.' But I learned how important those jobs are for those people and their families, and I've never forgotten it."

And so when Ramirez, now 22, knocked out junior welterweight David Rodela in the first round before a sellout crowd Saturday of roughly 10,000 at Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif., he not only fought for himself but for all those in the Central Valley who work in the fields and whose lives have been devastated by the crippling drought that has affected the region.

The card was dubbed "The Fight for Water 3," and many of Central California’s political leaders attended. There was a rally for water rights early in the afternoon in the arena parking lot, and the fight card was designed to help bring attention to the issues caused by the drought.

There was also a rally for Proposition 1, a water bond that would authorize more than $7 billion in bonds to help the region.

Avenal actually lost its water rights several months ago. Ramirez was heavily involved in successfully lobbying the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for 450 acre-feet of water that city officials believe will at least last through March 2015.

Thousands of people lost their jobs because of the drought, many of them field workers like Ramirez’s family, as well as others in related industries.

He became involved in the Latino Water Coalition, which since 2007 has been fighting for the area’s water rights. He didn’t simply lend his name to the cause. He has been an active participant.

"Jose joined the coalition because, like so many of us on it, he had at one point in his life worked in the fields and understands what was happening in the community," said Mario Santoyo, the director and technical adviser of the Latino Water Coalition. "Jose’s family continues to work in the agricultural sector.

"A number of us are engineers, doctors, educators, and we’ve moved past working in the fields. But we know how critical this water issue is and we feel a responsibility to try to help this problem. Jose has been very committed and hasn’t forgotten where he came from. He’s not doing this for something to put on his resumé. He’s involved because he cares and wants to make a difference."

Ramirez (12-0, 9 KOs) is the rare professional athlete who may be more well known for his philanthropic and community efforts than he is for his athletic accomplishments.

He recently hired Freddie Roach to train him, and plans to fly to the Philippines not long after his bout with Rodela to train with Roach and serve as a sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao as Pacquiao prepares for his Nov. 22 bout against Chris Algieri in Macau.

The city and its leaders will miss him when he’s gone.

Harlin Casida has been the mayor of Avenal since 1979 and has seen many people come and go. But he said Ramirez stands apart because of his humility and his eagerness to help improve the life of the city’s resident.

Each year, there is a turkey giveaway around Thanksgiving for the less fortunate in the area. Ramirez always volunteers to help distribute the turkeys, but he’s gone beyond that, Casida said.

"Jose is the kind of kid who wants to do everything he can and then some to help," Casida said. "It would have been more than enough to have him out helping pass out turkeys. It’s a lot of work and it means taking out some of your personal time to do something for someone else. If he’d just come out and joined in passing out the turkeys, that would have been a huge help.

"But Jose went to the local markets and he bought sacks of potatoes, and rice, and beans and all of the things you need to have to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and he did it with his own money. No one asked him to do that. No one suggested it to him. It’s who he is. He saw a need and he tried to fill it."

Since the beginning of his professional career, Ramirez has been sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios. Because his mother worked for Paramount Farms for years, it meant a lot to him to have that sponsorship.

No matter how successful he becomes, he said, he wants to retain ties to the Central Valley, where he was born, raised and first become a fighter.

His family emigrated to the U.S. and had years of struggle to make it. His father now has a much less physically demanding job, and can live what Ramirez calls "a comfortable life."

There are a lot of his fellow citizens who have lost their jobs because of the drought. Already low-income earners, these families have gone into crisis mode.

"I believe if you can relate to a cause and you can feel the devastation that is going on, and put yourself in the shoes of the victims, then you can do a better job working to try to find a solution," Ramirez said. "I was out there working in the fields, and so was everyone in my family. I understand it and I know how serious this water issue is. It’s very dangerous, and it’s hurt a lot of people.

"So I educated myself about the issue and decided that I wanted to do what I could to try to make life better for these people. If you have the ability to at least try to help the people who are struggling through no fault of their own, isn’t it your responsibility to at least do all you can to help?"

Rick Mirigian is a promoter in Central California who has put on shows involving such big name acts as Beyonce.

He first met Ramirez when he was putting on a two-day MMA festival, and as part of that, allowed the local USA Boxing chapter to stage some boxing matches.

Ramirez fought on that show and a bond was formed.

"After I checked him out, I realized that this was a special young man who was destined to do something incredible with his life," Mirigian said. "I wanted to dedicate my life to helping him, because I had the ability to see what he could become, and what kind of a transformative figure he could be.

"He’s a kid who came from a very poor family and he carries the weight of his family’s existence. He fights not to brag or to buy expensive things to say he has them. He fights to change lives."

Mirigian gets emotional as he speaks about Ramirez, and his voice cracks several times.

"In Avenal, this is the town where you either work in the fields or wind up on the street selling drugs," Mirigian said. "I’m just being honest. But he’s a special kid. After we signed with Top Rank and we were driving back, he looked out at the fields and said to me, 'I want to help these people. I want to make a difference in their lives and help them recover what they’ve lost.'"