Ramirez vs Jimenez Predictions: Flyweights could steal the show

John Ramirez takes on David Jimenez on Saturday, April 20 for the interim WBA super flyweight championship. The bout takes place at the Barclays Center in New York, on the undercard of Devin Haney’s WBC super lightweight title defence against Ryan Garcia. DAZN will televise the match-up. Here are my Ramirez vs Jimenez predictions ahead of a big battle in the Big Apple.

Ramirez is something of an anomaly in the modern game. A fighter who has battled his way to the cusp of a world title shot with a limited amateur background and just 13 pro fights on his resume. Initially fighting out of the iconic Wild Card gym, helmed by iconic trainer Freddie Roach, Ramirez’s unpaid record was a modest 18-7. But he has not put a foot wrong in the paid ranks and now fights for an interim championship.

This is no coincidence or favourable promotion either. Ramirez earned this shot by blasting out Ronal Batista in four rounds in his last fight. In his previous bout, Batista had been 11 rounds in a WBC flyweight title challenge against the brilliant Julio Cesar Martinez. Ramirez might be learning on the job, but he is a quick study.

In David Jimenez, he faces the best opponent of his career so far. The 15-1 Costa Rican came within spitting distance of a world title in the past. Artem Dalakian bested him via a close unanimous decision for the WBA flyweight title in January of last year. ‘Medallita’ was quick to rebound from that disappointment, racking up three wins since.

Dalakian’s five-year reign with that title ended in January at the fists of Seigo Yuri Akui. He defends the WBA belt at the Tokyo Dome next month against countryman Taku Kuwahara. The winner of Ramirez-Jimenez will be at the front of the queue to face the winner of that one. 

The WBA maintain that  they wish to clean up their muddled title situation, which has seen them crown as many as three champions in a single division simultaneously. Whether they follow through on that claim is anyone’s guess, but the nature of an interim title means that Saturday’s victor should logically receive a title shot.

But rather than focus on what is to come, let us concentrate on what lies immediately ahead. This is a finely-poised battle which could conceivably go either way. Ramirez is the fighter on the up. An unblemished pro record as he has taken to the professional game like a duck to water. However, while he has impressed thus far, Jimenez could ask him some questions he is ill-equipped to answer.

While Ramirez had just those 25 unpaid fights to prepare him for the paid game, Jimenez was a decorated amateur. A bronze medalist at the Pan American Games and the World Amateur Championships, the Costa Rican was a serious talent before he ever punched for pay. 

This is the sort of experience gap that could manifest on fight night. While they are close in professional fights, with Jimenez having 16 bouts to Ramirez’s 13, their overall ring time is very different. In a fight of close margins, this could manifest. 

I do feel like Ramirez is a fighter on the rise though. If anything, turning over to the pro business seems to have been easier for him because the amateur ways were not as deeply ingrained as they are in some boxers. He has adapted brilliantly under the fine tutelage of Julian Chua out in California. Between his initial amateur foray under Roach and his work with his current trainer Chua, along with assistance from former four-time world champion Brian Viloria, Ramirez has had some of the best schooling in the game. 

I feel like that education will see him graduate with WBA interim honours on Saturday night. My pick is a Ramirez victory at 8/15. While Jimenez belongs at this level, I think he is about to come up against a fighter who is truly special. One unbound by the traditions that dictate you must master your craft as a time-served amateur before world title belts can reach your horizon. ‘Scrappy’ is unconventional and that is exactly why he’ll win.

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