Sunday Convo: Is Jose Ramirez In Denial Or Was It An ‘Off Night’?

When the bell sounded to start the fight, it seemed like vintage Ramirez as he jabbed his way inside and turned on his left and right hooks to the body. Barthelemy stood back and took in everything Ramirez had to offer, but as Sergio Mora alluded to on the broadcast, Barthelemy was not in the business of wasting shots. He was looking for that one good punch. That punch would come in the third round and the experience of the 38-year-old Barthelemy would show itself. Barthelemy waited, and when the time was right, he landed a straight left hand that hurt Ramirez almost instantaneously. Once that happened, Barthelemy tried to jump all over him. Ramirez would show his championship pedigree and fight back, which helped him get to the end of the round.

Barthelemy would then begin to use that straight left hand in the fourth round when Ramirez would throw his punches. In that instance, Barthelemy hurt Ramirez badly again, but this time, there was more time on the clock, and after hitting him with some flurries, Ramirez held but eventually fell to one knee, which was called a slip by referee Jack Reiss. Out of frustration, Barthelemy would hit Ramirez a few times while down, which could have led to him being disqualified, but instead, Reiss gave Ramirez extra time to recover.

For the rest of the fight, Ramirez threw a lot of left and right hooks to the body and followed it with a straight right hand. Although Barthelemy had the high guard up and wasn’t countering too much, when he threw that left hand, and it landed, Ramirez would be visibly stunned each time. Neither fighter broke any CompuBox records in the later rounds, but Ramirez worked a little more to win each round.

What To Make of Jose Ramirez At This Point of His Career

During the post-fight press conference, Ramirez would admit that the fight wasn’t his best performance and that he got “overly excited” during the fight with people chanting his name. That would generally fly for any other fighter, but that’s hard to believe for a guy like Ramirez, with the amount of experience he has and who has fought in that building in the past. On Saturday night, I saw a fighter who could be in denial that his best days are in the rearview. He’s only 31 years old, but his motor has many miles on it, and he’s been in some tough fights.

One of the first signs of a fighter close to the end is punch resistance. Ramirez did not have that at all last night. As soon as Barthelemy landed flush, Ramirez was hurt. It’s too bad that Barthelemy was 38 and not 28, as it would have led to the end of the fight before the sound of the final bell. Ramirez has been knocked down before, but against bigger punchers than Barthelemy. In those instances, he would take them and keep moving forward. Last night, there were a few times that Ramirez was nearly out on his feet.

Ramirez also looked slower than he has in the past. We aren’t talking about Joe Joyce slow, but enough of a speed dip where the younger champions would pick up on it and make him pay. Robert Garcia did a great job managing the situation and making the appropriate adjustments, when necessary, but Ramirez was supposed to roll over Barthelemy and not struggle against him.

Who Does Jose Ramirez Fight Next?

After the fight, Oscar De La Hoya said that maybe Ramirez had one more fight before a world title shot. I disagree with De La Hoya and think Ramirez needs to fight for a title next and cash out while he can, as taking a fight in between would be a risk. The only fight that would get him a title shot that wouldn’t be too dangerous would be against WBC champion Devin Haney. That fight could happen, especially if Ryan Garcia chooses to go in another direction instead of the rematch. A fight with Ismael Barroso could be an option and one that could see Ramirez become a full champion if Isaac Cruz goes back down to lightweight. The only other fight that could be made on the DAZN side would be against the winner of Subriel Matias and Liam Paro. All are tough fights, but a fight against a top-ten guy before that wouldn’t be a great idea.

My Three Cents

Ramirez has given boxing fans tons of thrills throughout the years and has been a staple in his community. All those tough fights he’s had have shortened his career, and his next fight should be the biggest so that he can ride off in the sunset, avoiding becoming a fighter who stayed longer than he should have.