Boxing roundup: Ramos' next fight coming soon; DelSol's 'City Fights' in Phoenix Saturday night
Jesús Ramos Jr. isn't about the trash talk or disrespect of opponents, like many other fighters who've had success in the boxing ring. It's just not his way.
Not many words, just actions. That's Ramos' style, and those actions have the Casa Grande native at 20-0 with a possible title shot in his sights. At age 22, he fights like a seasoned veteran who adjusts quickly to difficult styles and bright lights, and the wins keep piling up.
Some fighters go after bigger names hoping to make splash and take a huge career jump. Ramos and his camp take a more measured approach, but the opponents are gradually getting tougher. On Sept. 30, Ramos faces Erickson Lubin (25-2) in a fight scheduled for 12 rounds, and win moves him closer to the stars in the division.
"I'm not here to run from anybody. Lubin asked for this fight, and here we are," Ramos said.
The Lubin fight is the co-main event on the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Ramos gets to be part of a headliner card after missing the opportunity to fight on the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence megafight schedule in July due to a hand injury.
"It was sad. I went through most of training camp with the pain and it got too unbearable. But I didn't want to cancel the fight. My team, I think we made the right decision," Ramos said.
He still attended the fight and has learned a lot from it.
Ramos said he's grown as a person as his career rises. Family is always part of his corner as trainers and handlers, but as he has matured, he's learned to hang out with the right crowd and choose his friends carefully as he has become more intelligent about such things.
"I feel like I'm living a peaceful right now. I'm just doing my thing, chasing my dream," he said.
Garcia, also on Canelo card, 'knew it was gonna happen'
Phoenix's Elijah Garcia was set to join Ramos at Chase Field Friday night to throw out ceremonial first pitches prior to the Diamondbacks-Cubs game. Garcia fights before Ramos on the Alvarez-Charlo card on Sept. 30, facing Armando Resendiz in a battle of up-and-coming middleweights.
Garcia, 20, said Friday that he can't get in much better shape two weeks before the fight. He expects Resendiz to be the toughest fight of his career. Garcia is 15-0 with 12 knockouts while Resendiz is 14-1 with 10 KOs.
Success has come fast for Garcia, who wants to get through this fight before he can look ahead to one day, sooner than later possibly fighting for the WBA middleweight title, currently held by 40-year-old Erislandy Lara.
"Hard work, dedication, strong faith. We knew it was gonna happen. But, you know, we didn't think it would happen this quick," Garcia said. "You know, we asked for a hard fight. And we got a hard fight against (Amilcar) Vidal (in March). And then we just kept it rolling. And here we are now, but it's just, it's a blessing."
'CityFights' set for Saturday, state title belt on the line
DelSol Boxing Promotions moves its frequent nights of fights from downtown Glendale to Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix on Saturday with "CityFights," which features at least 11 bouts including the Arizona State Super Featherweight championship as the main event.
In a battle of locals, Jesus "Baby Monsoon" Ibarra (15-1, 7 knockouts) takes on southpaw Edward "Nano" Ceballos (10-4-1, 6 KOs) for the 130-pound title. Ibarra, who has fought on the undercard of two of Phoenix-born champion David Benavidez fights (in Glendale and in Las Vegas) is looking to rebound from his only loss, and Ceballos is trying to prove he can take down a better quality opponent and advance his career.
"It's a great opportunity to fight for the title. I get another opportunity. Fighting local fighters is where it needs to be at. That's where all the tough fighters are," Ceballos said. "To fight a local fighter like Jesus is what's going to make Arizona known."
"The best out of AZ fighting the best," Ibarra said. "Just beating a tough fighter from AZ will help me get my name back out there."
The co-main event is Danny Barrios vs. Jeronil Borres in an eight-round super bantamweight bout. Local fan favorites also on the card include Maximus Castro, Fabian Rojo, Adrian "Suavecito" Rodriguez and Axel Rosales. Eighteen-year-old Erick Munguia makes his pro debut.
"Phoenix is starting to get up there already. These kind of fights, we need them because that's what makes us AZ fighters stand out," Barrios said. "We all have a bright future, and I can't wait to be up there (with Benavidez and Ramos). Hopefully next year, maybe this year. But soon all of us will be up there."
Doors to the venue open at 5 p.m. and the first bell is at 6 p.m..
Ticket prices start at $53.50, available at www.delsolpromotions.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Big fights ahead for two of Arizona's best boxers; local event Sept. 16
