By Francisco Salazar
The fighting styles of Mike Tyson and Ricardo “Finito” Lopez could not be any more different.
One style was powerful and aggressive, while the other displayed great ring generalship and fluid combinations.
Would it not be funny if a fighter would have the combination of Tyson’s power and Lopez’s finesse in the ring?
After watching a number of fights where both fighters displayed their skills, one young fighter aims to continue using his power while implementing his improving boxing skills.
Unbeaten Julian Ramirez will face fellow hard-hitting prospect Derrick Wilson in a scheduled eight round bout at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA.
The bout will be the co-main event, preceding the main event between junior welterweights Antonio Orozco and Miguel Angel Huerta. Both bouts will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 at 10PM ET/ 7PM PT.
For anyone who has seen Ramirez fight in person, it almost seems as though he is a toy that is wound up and when let go, is non-stop until his opponent goes down or until the end of the fight.
While it has worked early on in his career, where Ramirez scored knockouts in five of his first six fights, relying only on his power may not be to his advantage as his career progresses. Ramirez has improved tremendously in terms of ring generalship and utilizing his skills to box.
He will face a dangerous opponent tonight in Wilson, who is an almost mirror image of the young fighter from East Los Angeles, CA. Wilson has pulled off upsets over unbeaten prospects and house fighters throughout his career.
While he is not overlooking Wilson, Ramirez is confident he will be victorious over the dangerous Wilson.
“I’m excited and ready to go,” Ramirez told Boxingscene.com over the phone on Tuesday night. “I expect him (Wilson) to be at his best. If he wants to, we can box or brawl. Golden Boy (which promotes him) wants to test me, but I think I’m going to pass this test. I trained hard and I’m ready for this fight. ”
Ramirez (9-0, 6 KOs) prepared himself physically and psychologically for this fight by continuing to spar for eight, 10, or 12 rounds during each gym session.
He has not fought since his first round knockout over Abraham Rubio on August 24th in Carson, CA. He having fought four times in 2013, he wants to be more active as he believes he improves with each fight and maintains his weight.
“I don’t want to stay out of the ring for a long time,” said Ramirez, who is managed by Joel De La Hoya. “I want to be as active as possible. We work hard in the gym, which is how I want to fight.”
While Ramirez has mostly fought around the featherweight limit, there is some consideration if he could drop down one weight class. His bout against Wilson is at a contract weight of 124 pounds.
“I’m open to it and I want to take advantage of it, if possible.”
With his explosive power, it would be interesting to see if Ramirez is able to fight at that weight class. If he is able to continue improving on his skill set, the sky could be the limit for him.
He will have a good foundation if he could emulate or practice what Ricardo Lopez did inside the ring. Lopez is considered one of Mexico’s best fighters in the 40 years, dominating most foes throughout his career.
It is something Ramirez looks at with amazement as a fan, but is eager to utilize more as a fighter.
“Lopez was a great boxer. He was super smart in the ring and a technician. What I liked about (Mike) Tyson was he was aggressive and had that ‘no-fear’ attitude. Every fighter needs to that way and not be scared.”
“I feel like I’m a combination of the two. I like to be smart fighter and keep learning how to box effectively. I know I’m going to combine both one day.”
Ramirez is eager to continue his winning ways and make a name in boxing. An impressive victory over Wilson could be a great start for him in 2014.
While knockouts are great, effective boxing and defense are always going to be the keys to success. If he is able to continue improving his skill set, Ramirez could be one to watch in the near future.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Knockout Nation, and RingTV. He could be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing