Ramirez’s first title defense official for Sept. 14

Boxing

Junior welterweight world titlist Jose Ramirez’s first defense against top contender Antonio Orozco, agreed to two weeks ago, is now official.

Ramirez will take on Orozco on Sept. 14 at the Save Mart Center in Ramirez’s home region of Fresno, California, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions announced on Thursday. The fight will headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card (ESPN and ESPN Deportes, 10 p.m. with the entire card streaming on ESPN+ beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET).

Ramirez, who won a vacant 140-pound belt by decision against Amir Imam on March 17, was scheduled to make title defense No. 1 against Danny O’Connor on July 7, also on ESPN at the Save Mart Center. However, O’Connor was ruled out of the bout because he was suffering from severe dehydration from trying to make weight and was rushed to the hospital a few hours before the weigh-in the day before the fight.

Top Rank then quickly rescheduled Ramirez and came to terms with Orozco promoter Golden Boy for a fight that figures to be far more competitive than the O’Connor bout figured to be. Orozco is universally regarded as a top-10 fighter at junior welterweight; O’Connor is not close to that level.

“We have an undefeated fighter in front of us, and I will get myself prepared to put on a great show,” Ramirez said. “It’s an honor to fight in Fresno, and we owe it to the fans after what happened last time. We’re going to make this show bigger and better. The fans of Fresno and the Central Valley have supported me my entire career, and I am honored to return home to defend the WBC world championship.”

Ramirez (22-0, 16 KOs), 25, of Avenal, California, will go into the fight with Robert Garcia – who had trained him for the O’Connor bout — as his head trainer for the first time.

“This will be a signature fight for Jose,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “Orozco is a very good, undefeated fighter, and we’re looking forward to a spectacular show back in our favorite venue, the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.”

Orozco (27-0, 17 KOs), 30, of San Diego, has been a leading contender for the past few years, but he has had major issues making weight. Twice in 2017, he badly missed weight, forcing televised fights to be canceled. Top Rank said there is a weight penalty in the agreement and Orozco and his team say he will be on weight for his biggest fight.

“My time is now,” Orozco said. “The time for me to become world champion is here, and I will do everything possible to take that world title away from Jose Ramirez. I want to thank my manager Frank Espinoza and Golden Boy Promotions for this opportunity, which I will take full advantage of this September. I know that Ramirez is a tough fighter and that I’ll be fighting on enemy turf. But I’m not worried about that. I have all the experience and the skills to score a great victory and leave the ring with the world title around my waist.”

Fights between Top Rank and Golden Boy have been rare but this is the second major one of the year. They also did the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Jorge Linares lightweight title together in May.

“Orozco has been a loyal Golden Boy Promotions fighter for years, and we always knew he would fight for a world title,” said Golden Boy president Eric Gomez. “There’s no better way to do it than against a tough champion in Jose Ramirez. This is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that he is the best in the division, and I’m confident he will walk away world champion when he invades enemy territory on Sept. 14.”

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