By Steve Kim
So what does Jose Ramirez think of his upcoming foe, Amir Imam, who he faces on Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York?
''He's a very technical fighter, he doesn't waste his punches. He pin-points his shots pretty good," said Ramirez at the Wild Card Boxing Club last week before taking off for the East Coast.
"But there's nothing that he has that worries me too much. But then again, I'm also staying very focused, I believe in my skills more than anything and we'll see what he has once I'm in front of him. As a fighter we'll see what he has to offer and what he can take as well, such as adversity."
Imam's lone loss came against Adrien Granados who sprung the upset in November of 2015 by constantly pressuring him on the inside.
Ramirez referenced this fight when he stated - "He experienced some adversity in his pat and we'll see if he learned from it and if he matured as a fighter. But if he shows up the way he did against Granados, I think it should be good."
Ramirez (21-0, 16 KOs) will face Imam (21-1, 18 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight title, marking the 2,000th world title bout in the WBC’s 55-year history. The winner of the bout will receive a special belt commemorating the occasion.
In the co-feature, Oleksandr Gvozdyk (14-0, 12 KOs) will fight France’s Mehdi Amar (34-5-2 16 KOs) for the interim WBC light heavyweight title.
The undercard will also feature three of Puerto Rico's top fighters. Felix Verdejo (23-0, 15 KOs) returns from a 13-month layoff to face Antonio Lozada, Jr. (38-2, 32 KOs), former IBF Junior Lightweight world champion Jose Pedraza (22-1, 12 KOs) begins his lightweight campaign against Jose Luis Rodriguez (26-11-1, 14 KOs), and the unbeaten Christopher Diaz (22-0, 14 KOs) defends his NABO Super Featherweight belt against Braulio Rodriguez (19-2, 17 KOs).
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com