Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) lightweight champion, Richard Commey, has vowed to make his country proud as he prepares to take on America’s Jose Ramirez at the Save Mart Centre in Fresno, California, on March 25.
The Ghanaian fighter said he was up for the challenge against a dangerous opponent in Ramirez when they slug it out in a WBC super lightweight championship eliminator.
Commey (30-4-1, 27 KOs) made his name as one of the sport’s top lightweights by capturing the IBF world title in February 2019. His title reign lasted 10 months as he knocked out former world champion, Ray Beltran, before suffering a stunning second-round stoppage defeat to Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden.
Commey’s lightweight run ended with a December 2021 decision loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko. Last August, in his junior welterweight debut, he fought to a 10-round draw against Pedraza.
“I want to thank my team for putting me on the path to fulfilling my dream of becoming a two-weight world champion.
“I also want to thank Bob Arum and Top Rank for once again showing faith in me by allowing me to headline against a formidable opponent in Jose Ramirez.
“I’m up for the challenge, and I intend to make Ghana and all my fans around the world proud,” Commey told BoxingScene.com
Meanwhile, Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs), from Avenal, California, will return home to the friendly confines of the Save Mart Center, which has hosted six of his previous fights.
Following his 2021 decision defeat to Josh Taylor for the undisputed junior welterweight title, Ramirez bounced back in March last year with a unanimous decision victory over former two-weight world champion, Jose Pedraza.
He has been among the sport’s best 140-pounders since winning the WBC world title over Amir Imam in March 2018. After defending that title twice, Ramirez stopped Maurice Hooker in six brutal rounds to unify the WBC and WBO titles.
Ramirez retained both belts with a hard-fought majority decision over Viktor Postol in August 2020, a win that set up the Taylor showdown.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Kingsley Adu
