Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez (12-1, 7 KOs) is ready to make the inaugural defense of his WBO featherweight world title against a fellow two-time Olympian. Ramirez will take on Japanese contender Satoshi “Diamond Left” Shimizu (11-1, 10 KOs) on Tuesday, July 25, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Ramirez-Shimizu will serve as the co-feature to the world title showdown between Philadelphia’s WBC/WBO junior featherweight champion Stephen Fulton and Japan’s pound-for-pound king Naoya “Monster” Inoue.
Fulton-Inoue, Ramirez-Shimizu and additional undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.
Ramirez said, “Next stop, Japan! I am happy to announce my quick return to the ring in what will be the first defense of my WBO world championship. Fighting is what I do best, titles are meant to be defended, and there’s no stopping ‘El Tren!'”
Ramirez, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, experienced a rocky start to his pro career following a split decision loss to Adan Gonzales in August 2019. However, after joining forces with Cuban trainer Ismael Salas, the 29-year-old has developed a more pro-friendly stye. He has remained undefeated since and avenged his loss to Gonzales in a 2020 rematch inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble. In 2022, Ramirez stopped Irish veteran Eric Donovan in February, starched then-unbeaten contender Abraham Nova in June, and defeated Jose Matias Romero via ninth-round TKO in October. In his last fight, the fighting pride of Cienfuegos, Cuba, soundly defeated former junior featherweight world champion Isaac Dogboe by unanimous decision to capture the WBO featherweight crown.
Shimizu is a 37-year-old southpaw making his first attempt at a world title. Before turning pro, he represented Japan at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. In his first Olympiad, Shizmu was eliminated in his opening bout. Four years later, he moved down to bantamweight and earned a bronze medal, defeating Dogboe but losing to eventual gold medalist Luke Campbell. Shimizu has only tasted defeat once as a pro, a sixth-round TKO loss to Joe Noynay in 2019. His pro career is otherwise unblemished, having knocked out 10 of 11 opponents across an almost seven-year span.
The Sport of Boxing is currently running out of good fights.. the best cannot fight the best because of too much personality involved wanting to have the biggest share..
Take the money where is offered Ramirez and traveling to Japan to face this unknown guy named Shimizu is a good mentality. There are great matchups for him ahead the road after this mismatch.
Good to see he wants to fight often and not sit on the belt but this should be an easy first defense. 37yo and only 12 fights. Interesting that his KO loss was to the same Joe who upset Liam Wilson by KO