Robeisy Ramirez chose an interesting opponent. Little known but dangerous

WBO featherweight champion in the USA on the night of December 9-10 Robeisy Ramirez (13-1, 8 KOs) will defend his title in the fight against the Mexican Rafael Espinosa (21-0, 18 knockouts). This will be Robeisy’s third title fight in 2023 and Espinoza’s third title fight this year.

And most importantly, given the boxing of Rafael and Robeisi, there is no doubt that the confrontation will be interesting.

Ramirez is working hard in 2023 and beat an opponent almost as big as Espinoza

Robeisi Ramirez is a two-time Olympic champion. He was one of only two Cubans to bring home a gold medal at the highly successful 2012 Olympics. The first was Ronel Iglesias, who defeated Denis Berinchik in the 60 kg weight final. The runner-up was Ramirez, who beat Japanese, Thai, British, Irish and Mongolian boxers en route to the gold medal in the category. Moreover, the Briton is Andrew Selby (Lee Selby’s brother) and the Irishman is Michael Conlan.

For Cuba, the 2016 Olympics were more successful – 3 gold medals. Julio Cesar La Cruz in the category up to 81 kilograms, Arlen Lopez in the category up to 75 kilograms, and Robeisy Ramirez in the category up to 56 kilograms repeated the same success.

Moreover, this time he beat a real Cuban star. Conlan is great, but in the 2016 final, Ramirez beat Shakur Stevenson, who has struggled to dominate the pound-for-pound rankings in several years.

But there was a problem with the professional debut. It is not often that more or less promising boxers encounter defeat for the first time. And such stars, two-time Olympic champions – in general, this is the case. But that’s exactly what happened for Ramirez.

In his first professional fight, Robeisi faced the rather mediocre Adan Gonzalez and lost via split decision in the 4-round fight. Bad luck. Then there were three knockout victories in a row and again a meeting with Gonzalez. This time Ramirez won the 6-round fight by decision. Adan did not allow him to win his first match and continue his winning streak with a knockout.

Then everything went very well. Robeisy improved from fight to fight and became more and more professional. No matter what anyone says, you have to switch from amateur boxing to professional boxing. No matter how amateurs take their helmets off, these are slightly different sports.

In 2021, Robeisy defeated then-undefeated Orlando Gonzalez. And after the fight, he destroyed the hope of Abraham Nova, who had not lost until that moment. It took the Cubans five rounds to defeat the young American.

In 2023, Ramirez finally became world champion. Isaac Dogboe is not a very comfortable boxer. He is not big (both his height and arm span are just over 160 centimeters), but he is difficult for anyone to box with. To understand, Dogbo has four defeats and only one early defeat – Emmanuel Navarrete achieved this in the twelfth round. Robeisy Ramirez won by decisions, as did Navarrete and undefeated Nick Ball in their first fight.

After this championship victory, the Cuban went to Japan for the first time. He fought as part of the same night that Naoya Inue fought against Stephen Fulton. The opponent was Japanese big man Satoshi Shimizu. The Japanese man is twelve centimeters taller and his arms are longer. Of course, none of this helped him.

Ramirez looked better. He counterattacked with precision, did not allow his opponent to breathe and attack, and penetrated the defense. All this ended with the victory of the Cuban by technical knockout in the fifth round.

Already the third opponent and second title defense in 2023 will be Rafael Espinosa. He is even bigger than the previous Japanese, but he is also a better Mexican as a boxer. If Shimizu is a typical Japanese boxer who can push with force but does not stick and breaks if the opponent is more technical and faster, Espinoza is definitely not like that.

In addition to the size advantage of his youth (both are 29), Rafael is highly motivated. He says he has been waiting for such a chance and such a call from Ramirez’s team for a long time.

Who is the favorite?

The void is wild, of course. You can bet on Robeicy Ramirez for 1.09. For Rafael Espinosa – to 9.00. But is this fair?

Let’s look at the facts that we know and cannot be disputed. Espinoza and Ramirez are peers. Rafael is seventeen centimeters taller. Yes, these are official data, which sometimes differ from reality, but the Mexican is truly a giant. He regularly rides higher than his rivals and rides so much because of his body’s capabilities.

The Mexican player has a higher knockout percentage. Espinoza knocked out 85.71% of his opponents, while Ramirez knocked out 61.54%. Now let’s see who you are. Rafael never boxed outside of Mexico, but he beat strong, middle-of-the-road opponents there. A few can be highlighted, but nothing special.

Of course, Ramirez has experience, too. Here are two Olympic gold medalists and victories over very good professional boxers. And in general the ability to box against everyone: big, small, long-armed, fast. Robeisy’s boxing acumen is top notch.

But this will not happen. Just because Espinoza has only beaten lesser-known opponents in Mexico doesn’t mean he’s a bad boxer. The exact opposite. He has excellent skills and the ability to use his size. He’s not your average Mexican who would approach Ramirez at close range. He knows how to work from a distance, can punch with both hands and throw powerful punches. Some of the opponents took such blows that it was truly scary for them.

In other words, such an opponent’s criticism of Robeisi is absolutely not accepted. A great opponent, difficult but also risky despite its little-known status. It’s rare for a champion to accept such an adventure.

Moreover, considering the still quiet but still audible conversations about the Cuban’s fight with Naoya Inue, who will come very close to repeating the absolute title in December. This means an opportunity to enter Ramirez’s category.

1.09 – 9.00 place bet money Zrobiti bet