After a pair of fight dates fell by the wayside, WBC/WBO junior welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez and former world champion Viktor Postol are set to fight Saturday evening from the MGM Grand “Bubble” (ESPN+ coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET). They were scheduled to fight Feb. 2 in China and May 9 in Fresno, Calif., but the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans.
This is what Ramirez and Postol had to say at Thursday’s press conference.
Jose Ramirez
“After the big win against Hooker, I am ready to go and continue my journey to become undisputed champion. I know Viktor Postol stands in the way of that, and he is a very experienced fighter. I have been training very, very hard for this fight.
“Due to the pandemic, the fight got rescheduled, but I stayed at the gym. I remained composed and patient. I have a great team and my family behind me. I’m a man of faith. I believe everything happens for a reason, and now that I’m here, I can’t wait to showcase my talent on August 29. I want to show the world how much I have grown and matured as a unified champion. My goal is to become [undisputed] world champion.
“For the first date for this fight, I did a full training camp. The fight got rescheduled the same day I was supposed to depart, but luckily, I didn’t get to the airport. For the second date, I was in camp for five weeks before I got the call that the fight was going to get canceled again. Now, this is another nine-week camp that I’ve been on. My last fight was 13 months ago, but it feels like it was yesterday because I’ve been in the gym the whole year and with this fight on my mind the whole time.”
Viktor Postol
“The first training camp was tough because I came to the U.S. two months before the fight and we actually departed to China for the first fight date. It was a long flight. This camp has also been very long. I came three months before the fight date, but I feel good. I feel ready to fight.
“Jose is a good fighter. He is a good champion, but I know I have a good chance to win this fight. I have the motivation because this fight is for two belts. I’ll be ready.”
Mira cabron, Ramirez. You must win by an outstanding TKO or KO to position yourself for a pitch to fight Crawford at 147. You already have a fan base, so put in that “grunt work” for an outstanding TKO or KO victory.
If anyone is getting knocked out it’s Ramirez.
No way Berserker, sorry to disagree. I see Ramirez accelerating Postol’s retirement process.