Jose Ramirez: Hometown Support Boosts My Confidence
By Francisco Salazar
You do not need to remind Jose Ramirez of the phrase, “hard work.”
He applied that phrase to a stellar amateur career that culminated in representing the United States in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Then again, that is just the tip of the iceberg if you really got to know Ramirez.
Ramirez lived and breather hard work while growing up in Avenal, a rural community near Fresno, Calif. It is there where Ramirez woke up in the early morning to work alongside his parents, picking the seasonal crops in unforgiving heat during the summer or mud while it rained.
While “hard work” is all Ramirez knows, he is now working hard to give back to the community that he knows so well, while moving towards improving as a fighter.
Ramirez will fight David Rodela in an eight round bout at Selland Arena in Fresno on Saturday night. The bout will headline a “Fight for Water 3” card, presented by Top Rank.
Ramirez has so far bested average competition thus far in his young career. He will face a significant step up in opposition when he faces Rodela on Saturday night. Rodela has fought a who’s who of world champions, contender, and blue-chip prospects, while sparring the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton, and Zab Judah.
While Rodela’s resume of boxers he has fought is impressive, Ramirez believes he is prepared someone as formidable as him.
“I’m focused and confident and ready for him,” Ramirez told BoxingScene.com in a recent interview over the phone. “I know he has fought a lot of great champions. He has lots of amateur experience. Working with Freddie Roach has been great as he has taught me to shorten up on my punches and to put my body behind my punches.”
That solid foundation he has built, coupled with Roach’s work in the gym have paid off dividends. His success in the ring in recent months has is nothing new to fight fans in the area where Ramirez grew up.
Ramirez has become quite the draw in California’s San Joaquin Valley (also known as the Central Valley). A sold-out crowd witnessed Ramirez knocking out Jesus Selig in the second on May 17.
While it may not mean a lot to a few fighters, fighting near his hometown and having the support of his fans or fans of boxing gives him that extra motivation.
“Their encouragement and support pushes me,” said Ramirez, whose still works in the agricultural fields in and around Avenal. “It pushes me. It boosts my confidence. I’m honored and blessed to have their support. It takes me a long way and I feel like I carry their pride with me when I fight away from home.”
While Ramirez has carved out success as a prospect thus far, his pays attention to other important matters besides boxing.
Ramirez has joined the California Latino Water Coalition, an organization dedicated to providing solutions to the water crisis in California. The San Joaquin Valley has been hit hard from a lack of consistent rain over the last three years. Many reservoirs are drying up, prompting farmers and growers to either not use all of their farmland or letting go of seasonal workers.
The Coalition hopes to pass a California water bond on the November 4 ballot.
Because Ramirez grew up alongside his father, he saw firsthand the working conditions, but how much water is vital to the necessity of growing crops, which keeps people employed.
While some would wonder if Ramirez is not distracting himself from working in the gym, Ramirez believes that dedicating his time to a worthy cause far outweighs the criticisms he hears.
“I speak in favor of the Coalition because I want to do it. It comes out of my heart. These jobs are very important to the families who have to feed their families. I could relate to it because I worked with my Dad and he is still working in the fields.”
“The lack of water affects prices, which affects the supply and demand of the crops, which could put more people out of work. Nothing gets in my way. It is something I want to learn and educate myself in.”
Whether Ramirez pans out to be a successful professional prizefighter remains to be seen. So far, Ramirez has impressed as a pro, but some questions do remain as to whether he can take a punch and how much he could improve on.
He has scored dramatic knockouts and has dominated his opposition, but the Rodela fight should be a good measuring stick as to where he is at as a pro.
As for activism, Ramirez remains committed to helping those less fortunate. And why not? He sees himself in the thousands of people who endure back-breaking work to provide for their families.
Hard work is in his blood, which is what he believes will continue his success.
“I’m just standing up for my family and community.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email (santio89@yahoo.com) or on Twitter (@FSalazarBoxing)
