Viktor Postol: record, next fight and profile →
A clash of undefeated, dual belted titlists might be just over the horizon at Jr. welterweight. The horizon remains distant until all hurdles are clear. Before boxing fans can seriously wonder about a Josh Taylor-Jose Ramirez fight, both men have fights to win over the next month or so. Ramirez is up first.
Andre Ward views Viktor Postol as a legitimate threat to Jose Ramirez’s championship reign. Ramirez is listed as a 7-1 favorite to beat Postol on Saturday night, yet Ward wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Postol pulls off an upset. The former WBC super lightweight champion has lost only 12-round unanimous decisions to a pair of unbeaten, elite-level fighters, Terence Crawford and Josh Taylor, whom Ramirez hopes to encounter next in a 140-pound title unification fight.
Ramirez, Postol Weights Photos Gallery - Ramirez-Postol, Take 3! The long-awaited showdown between WBC/WBO junior welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez and former world champion and WBC mandatory challenger Viktor “The Iceman” Postol will take place at the MGM Grand Conference Center Saturday, Aug. 29. (photos by Mikey Williams)
Jose Ramirez and Viktor Postol passed the next-to-last hurdle Friday before they can finally fight Saturday night. Ramirez and Postol both made weight for their 12-round, 140-pound title fight, which will headline a six-bout card ESPN+ will stream from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Ramirez stepped on the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s scale at 139.8 pounds, slightly heavier than Postol, who officially weighed 139.7 pounds.
Freddie Roach recognizes improvements in Jose Ramirez since Ramirez began working with trainer Robert Garcia two years ago. Ramirez replaced Roach with Garcia less than two months after he won the WBC super lightweight title in March 2018. The 28-year-old Ramirez has gone 3-0 since parting ways with Roach, including a sixth-round knockout of Maurice Hooker in their title unification fight last July.
Ramirez, Postol Final Press Conference Photos Gallery - Finally! After a pair of fight dates fell by the wayside, WBC/WBO junior welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez and former world champion Viktor Postol are set to fight Saturday evening from the MGM Grand "Bubble" (ESPN+ coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET).
Viktor Postol has had two extensive training camps and an abbreviated camp since late last year for this same title fight against Jose Ramirez. All that training notwithstanding, Postol has not fought since April 2019. The 36-year-old mandatory challenger for Ramirez’s WBC super lightweight championship last fought 16 months ago, when he defeated France’s Mohamed Mimoune (22-4, 3 KOs) by unanimous decision in a 10-rounder at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
By Cliff Rold - ESPN+ has one of its best matches of the year on tap as unified WBC/WBO Jr. welterweight titlist Jose Ramirez (25-0, 17 KO) faces former WBC titlist and current WBC mandatory challenger Viktor Postol (31-2, 12 KO). The delayed showdown was expected earlier this year but 2020 happened and here we are. It’s not the fight everyone really wants in the division...
Jose Ramirez’s promoter is confident that his veteran trainer will man Ramirez’s corner Saturday night. Bob Arum informed BoxingScene.com that Robert Garcia has passed multiple COVID-19 tests since failing one late last week that prevented him from working a corner last Saturday night in Las Vegas. Garcia returned to Las Vegas on Monday and is preparing to enter the Top Rank/ESPN “bubble” Wednesday, along with Ramirez and the rest of his team, for Ramirez’s WBC/WBO 140-pound title fight versus Viktor Postol at MGM Grand Conference Center.
The last thing Jose Carlos Ramirez wanted to hear was anything COVID-related resulting in a third postponement of his mandatory title defense. The unbeaten and unified junior welterweight titlist has literally waited all year for a fight to materialize with Ukraine’s Viktor Postol, with the two finally set to square off this weekend live on ESPN+ from The Bubble in Las Vegas. Their third try at meeting for a first time is closer than it has ever been to seeing the light of day, even with the brief scare over the possibility of Ramirez coming in one team member light.