Photos: Jose Ramirez, Gabriel Flores Ready For Cinco De Mayo Bouts

By Francisco Salazar, photos by Mikey Williams

Jose Ramirez will risk his unbeaten record and a world ranking Friday night.

The 2012 U.S. Olympian will face former fringe contender Jake Giuriceo in a 10 round bout, Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman confirmed to BoxingScene.com.

The fight will headline a 'Solo Boxeo' card at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada and will air on UniMas (11 p.m. ET/ PT).

Ramirez (19-0, with 14 KOs) has built an unbeaten record facing mostly modest opposition. In his last bout on December 2, Ramirez survived a second round knockdown to knock out Issouf Kinda in round six.

The 24-year-old Ramirez is extremely popular in the Central Valley, residing in the farming community of Avenal. His fights attract large crowds, including over 13,000 for the Kinda fight at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.

Ramirez, who is trained by Freddie Roach, is ranked number five by the WBC and number by the WBO at 140 pounds.

Giuriceo (20-5-1, with 5 KOs) has won his last three bouts after losing his previous three fights to the likes of Viktor Postol, Alex Saucedo, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

Friday night will also mark the pro debut of former amateur standout Gabriel Flores. The 17-year-old from Stockton, California will face Devon Jones in a four round lightweight bout.

Flores made history recently, becoming the youngest fighter to sign a promotional deal with Top Rank. The junior at Cesar Chavez High School in Stockton signed with Top Rank at the age of 16.

Jones (2-2, with 1 KO) has last his last two bouts.

Reno resident Oscar Vasquez (11-1, with 3 KOs) faces Alex Rangel (17-6-3, with 11 KOs) in an eight eight round bantamweight bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing