By Steve Kim

As WBC super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez (22-0, 16 KOs) prepares for his first title defense against Danny O'Connor on July 7th - he is doing it under the guidance of trainer Robert Garcia in Riverside, California.

For the past few years, Ramirez had been working with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach in Hollywood.

It was surprising to see Ramirez make the switch after his title winning effort this past March, with Roach in his corner, against Amir Imam at The Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Rick Mirigian, the adviser for 'the Pride of the Central Valley' explained to BoxingScene.com - "I've been with him since the amateurs so from him being amateur to turning pro, from a pro into a world champion, his needs have changed and part of the foundation as a team on our side is to make sure that those needs are met as his growth continues.

"And at this point Jose's needs are very specific and we needed to make sure those needs were met from a time standpoint and a few other things because he is a world champion now and going into a very prime position in his career."

Roach, best known for his long and successful run with Manny Pacquiao, for the past month or so has been filming return of the boxing reality series 'The Contender.'

"(Ramirez) needs to be a full priority to somebody during this time," continued Mirigian.

"That's nothing bad against Marvin (Somodio) or Freddie, they'll be a part of Jose forever and we appreciated our time there and we have nothing but respect for both of them - but [Ramirez's] needs have to come first as a fighter before anything else."

In the last six months, Roach has lost some of the biggest names in his stable - as Miguel Cotto retired in December and Pacquiao has decided to train for his next fight with best friend Buboy Fernandez.

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com