Jose Ramirez was much more animated Friday as he went nose-to-nose with Josh Taylor than he was following their press conference Thursday.
Ramirez talked trash back to Taylor after they weighed in at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas for their 140-pound title unification fight Saturday night.
Ramirez, of Avenal, California, stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s scale first at 139.6 pounds. Taylor, of Prestonpans, Scotland, officially weighed the same amount, 139.6 pounds.
Ramirez, 28, and Taylor, 30, will fight for Ramirez’s WBC and WBO championships and Taylor’s IBF and WBA belts.
Most oddsmakers have established Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) as slightly more than a 2-1 favorite to beat Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) in a main event ESPN will broadcast from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Unless their 12-rounder concludes in a draw, the winner will become just the sixth fully unified male champion in any division during boxing’s four-belt era.
The official weights for the seven fights on the Ramirez-Taylor undercard are listed below.
ESPN (8 p.m. EDT; 5 p.m. PDT)
Jose Zepeda (33-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC), La Puente, California, 140¼ pounds vs. Hank Lundy (31-8-1, 14 KOs), Philadelphia, 139 pounds, 10 rounds, junior welterweights. Zepeda was given one hour to return to the scale at the contracted weight of 140 pounds.
Elvis Rodriguez (11-0-1, 10 KOs), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 139¾ pounds vs. Kenneth Sims Jr. (15-2-1, 5 KOs), Chicago, 139¾ pounds, 8 rounds, welterweights.
ESPN+ (4:45 p.m. EDT; 1:45 p.m. PDT)
Jose Enrique Vivas (20-1, 11 KOs), Texcoco, Mexico, 127½ pounds vs. Louie Coria (12-4, 7 KOs), Moreno Valley, California, 127½ pounds, 8 rounds, junior lightweights.
Andres Cortes (13-0, 7 KOs), Las Vegas, 132¼ pounds vs. Eduardo Garza (15-3-1, 8 KOs), Mission, Texas, 132½ pounds, 8 rounds, lightweights.
Robeisy Ramirez (6-1, 4 KOs), Cienfuegos, Cuba, 126½ pounds vs. Ryan Lee Allen (10-4-1, 5 KOs), Las Vegas, 125½ pounds, 6 rounds, featherweights.
Raymond Muratalla (11-0, 9 KOs), Fontana, California, 137 pounds vs. Jose Gallegos (20-10, 15 KOs), Bakersfield, California, 139½ pounds, 8 rounds, junior welterweights.
Javier Martinez (3-0, 1 KO), Milwaukee, 162½ pounds vs. Calvin Metcalf (10-5-1, 3 KOs), Kansas City, 160½ pounds, 6 rounds, super middleweights.
–boxingscene.com
