Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez has been a planned and massively-desired fight since before the COVID-19 lockdown even began. Now, it is finally upon us.
One fighter will walk out with four major 'alphabet' world titles as well as The Ring magazine's belt. The other will suffer their first professional defeat.
How is this one going to go? Our writers have their say.
Steven Muehlhausen
Prediction: Surprisingly, the odds are this high in favor of Taylor in a fight with the highest stakes. Ramirez is a two-belt champion for a reason. He's no slouch by any means. The way he broke Hooker down to finish him off was a sight to see. But we live in a what you have done for me lately society, which is why Taylor is such a heavy favorite to become the second four-belt holder at 140 pounds, along with Terence Crawford, who accomplished the feat in 2017.
Ramirez narrowly beat Viktor Postol via majority decision. It was a fight that you could have easily scored for Postol or a draw. Ramirez won by that much while Taylor wiped out Apinun Khongsong one month later.
If you look at the resumes, that also favors the native of Scotland. Taylor took the undefeated records away from Ivan Baranchyk and Regis Prograis, with the latter considered either the No. 2 or No. 3 fighter in the division by many pundits. Ramirez's best win is over Hooker, who just got finished by Vergil Ortiz.
Perception is unfortunately reality to a lot of people. Ramirez has a shot. But he has to fight like he did against Hooker and not how he did against Postol. According to CompuBox, Ramirez is number one at 140 pounds in punches thrown/round (64), punches landed/round (21), total connect rate (33%), and jab connect rate (24%).
Taylor is coming to make it a firefight. CompuBox also says that Taylor has the highest rate of power shots connected in the junior welterweight division (44%). Ramirez gets hit more than any fighter in the weight class with 16 punches landed/round.
The pressure and the heavy absorption of punches will wear Ramirez down, and Taylor gets the job done in the late rounds to become the undisputed junior welterweight champion.
Winner: Josh Taylor via stoppage
Mark Lelinwalla
The eye test from past fights tells me that Taylor should win, but my gut just won't agree. I see Taylor stifling Ramirez early by pummeling him with a barrage of power shots to bank rounds and build a sizeable lead. That being said, Ramirez will catch Taylor with something special — namely that left hook — during the mid to late rounds to drastically change the complexion of the fight.
And then, by the next round — dare I say — Ramirez will punch his way to a stoppage and undisputed crown. Now, this could easily go the other way as I believe this is as close to a true 50-50 fight that we'll see. But Ramirez' win over Hooker showed that he can take a punch and eat heavy shots if that means digging his way inside to do major damage. And major damage is what he'll do to become just the second junior welterweight undisputed champion during the four-belt era.
Winner: Jose Ramirez by late stoppage
Liam Happe
I've seen a lot of the boxing industry lean towards Taylor in this one, and as a British writer I, of course, would love to see that happen. All of this, however, does make me a little wary that Ramirez is being slept on, and he shouldn't be. This promises to be an absorbing battle and one that could go either way.
Nonetheless, Taylor really is one of the best out there right now and has shown sides to his game that suggest he will have an answer for everything. This isn't to take away from Ramirez's quality, but I suspect a close first six rounds will be followed by Taylor expertly opening a gap after sussing out his opponent before picking Ramirez off in the closing two rounds for a late finish, once Jose is forced to take more risks in search of the win.
Is this opinion biased towards the Scot? Is it somewhat arrogant? Perhaps it seems that way, but honestly I simply feel that as good as Ramirez is, Taylor will show exactly how good he is.
Winner: Josh Taylor via late stoppage
Erika Montoya
Ramirez vs. Taylor has all the ingredients of what a boxing fan asks for. Undefeated champions, all world belts on the line. Both come with the pride of their people on their shoulders and that will drive them not to back down.
Taylor will arrive with the confidence that he has the tools to prevail against a warrior who has proven that he knows how to throw venomous hooks. Strategy and preparation on both sides will be critical. My favorite for this fight is Ramirez by decision.
Winner: Jose Ramirez via decision