Undefeated super flyweight John “Scrappy” Ramirez (11-0, 8 KOs), fighting out of South-Central Los Angeles, aims to take over the super flyweight division.

Ramirez, 26, is rarely if ever mentioned by the media as a top super flyweight, despite him being the top rated 115-pounder in the World Boxing Association (WBA) ratings.

Boxing is a risk-reward sport, and the bottom line is “Scrappy” is too risky for many of the “name” super flyweights to fight, at least right now. His problem is the relatively late start he got in boxing. He has been on the fast track, capturing the WBA Continental and North American Boxing Association (NABA) super flyweight titles along his long, arduous journey. 

“Scrappy” accepted an offer last December to face veteran Thai boxer Sirichai Thaiyen (64-4, 42 KOs), who was then rated No, 3 (the No. 1 spot is open), in a WBA Title Eliminator to determine the mandatory challenger for then WBA Super Flyweight World Champion Joshua “El Profesor” Franco.

Nothing materialized, Thaiyen has been dropped to No. 8 in the WBA’s ratings, and Franco lost his title to Kazuto Ioka (30-3-1, 15 KOs) and retired. Ramirez’ opponent is being determined. The WBA will go down its ratings until it secures the highest-rated fighter who is available and accepts the challenge to fight “Scrappy.”

“I’ll fight whoever is put in front of me,” Ramirez explained. “In the end, boxing is a business and the only thing I’m missing is a world title. I am on the path to what I want, fighting the new WBA super flyweight champion, (Kazuto) Ioka. I’ll go to Japan to fight him if that’s what it’ll take.

“Either the media doesn’t want to talk about me or I’m not relevant. I’m the WBA Continental champ, so I’m in the loop. It doesn’t matter because I’ll get the respect that I deserve. I’m a high-risk, low-reward fighter right now. I’ve been saying that since day one. I know  I’m risky to fight but there are other fighters like me out there. There have been some changes in the WBA with Ioka being the new super flyweight champion. I’m pursuing the eliminator to become Ioka’s mandatory challenger. I won’t be denied. Somebody has to step up in the WBA top 15 and fight me. My time is coming!”