Philippines, 17 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Fresno Media Workouts Quotes: Jose Ramirez Returns Home for Title Defense

PhilBoxing.com




Ramirez to defend WBC super lightweight title against Danny O'Connor
LIVE on Saturday at the Save Mart Center, 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

FRESNO, Calif. (July 4, 2018) ? The homecoming is almost here. WBC super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez will make the first defense of his title against Danny O'Connor on Saturday at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, a short drive from Ramirez's hometown of Avenal.

Ramirez-O'Connor and the 10-round welterweight showdown between Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Juan Carlos Abreu will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The entire undercard will be shown on ESPN+ beginning at 6:30 p.m. and includes heavyweight contender Andy Ruiz Jr. (30-1, 20 KOs) against Kevin Johnson (32-9-1, 16 KOs) in a 10-rounder, undefeated Andy Vences (20-0-1, 12 KOs) versus Frank De Alba (22-3-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round super featherweight fight, and 18-year-old wunderkind Gabe Flores Jr. (8-0, 5 KOs) against James De Herrera (4-3, 3 KOs) in a six-round lightweight contest.

This is what the fighters had to say.

Jose Ramirez

?It has been a beautiful experience since I became a world champion. I?m very thankful for all the blessings. I?m a very thankful person and I hope I make everybody proud as a champion. My fans have seen me grow as a fighter.?

?This was my dream. Since I was little, I wanted to become a world champion and then be able to defend the title in front of the fans of the Central Valley. That is happening on Saturday.?

?As a fighter, I want to learn more and more. I want to keep sharpening my craft. I want to become a complete fighter and now even more that I?m a world champion. I?m ready to fight the best champions and get all the doubts out of the way as to who is the best fighter in the division.?

Robert Garc?a (Trainer, Jose Ramirez)

?This is our first fight working together and I don?t want Jos? to change much. This fight will be similar to what people have seen. I think that the fans will start to notice the adjustments we have worked on after our second training camp together. We will have more time to work.?

?We have to put pressure on O?Connor and we have to go to the body. Those are two things that Jose has been very good at during his whole career.?

?His left hook to the body is very strong, but his left jab is the strongest jab I have ever felt.?

?There are always fireworks every time that Jose fights, but being that this is the Fourth of July weekend, the fireworks are going to be even better.?

Danny O'Connor

?I have no pressure of coming into his backyard to fight him. I?m a firefighter and I run into burning buildings. There is no pressure whatsoever. At the end of the day, it is going to be just him and me inside the ring. I understand that the crowd will be cheering for him because this is his hometown, but that doesn?t rattle me. I?m here to do what I do. This is just another boxing match and it could be on Mars for all that I care. I?m going to leave Fresno with the WBC super lightweight world title.?

Egidijus Kavaliauskas

?The fans can expect a great fight from me on Saturday. Every time I get in the ring, I try to give the fans an entertaining fight. I want to show them what I can do. Even though I?m always smiling; I?m very mean in the ring. That is why they call me ?The Mean Machine?.?

?I feel that I?m ready to challenge for a world title. Challenging the winner of Pacquiao vs. Matthysse will be a dream come true."

Andy Vences

?I know I?m fighting a very tough opponent in Frank De Alba. He is someone that I definitely will not overlook. I?m focused on the fight and I?m ready to show who ?El Tibur?n? is.?

On His Draw Against Erick De L?on

?That was a very tough fight, but I still think that I won the fight. I already put that in the past. That is why this Saturday everyone will see how much I have improved as a fighter.?

Gabe Flores Jr.

?I want to keep growing and improving as a fighter. This is a sport that you have to take seriously. And I do. I eat, sleep, everything is boxing. For this fight, we worked a lot on our footwork. We will use that to attack in angles.?

Andy Ruiz

?I?ve been training with Manny Robles at Legendz Boxing Gym in Norwalk, California. I feel great there. I feel that my style and Manny's style is a perfect combination.?

?I want to fight all the big names out there. The more fights I get, the better I will get. It is about time I battle one of those big names in the heavyweight division again. It is my turn this Saturday to put on a good show and move on to bigger fights. I?m ready.?


About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusive, original boxing programs The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays) and In This Corner (twice monthly). In addition to boxing content, fans can watch thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN?s linear TV or digital networks. This includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, Top Rank boxing, PGA TOUR golf, college sports, international rugby, cricket, the full library of ESPN Films (including 30 for 30) and more. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.




Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 15 SEPTEMBER 2025: Crawford Snatches Canelo's Undisputed Crown at 168 Lbs; Inoue Defeats Akhmadliev to Retain 4 Superbantam Belts; Crocker Outpoints Donovan
    By Eric Armit, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • TICKET NEWS: EUBANK JR-BENN II ON SALE FROM THIS WEDNESDAY
    , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • “Night of Champions” Returns to Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando on September 19
    , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Canelo-Crawford: The Consolidation of Boxing’s New Commercial Empire
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • A New Era for Boxing: Canelo vs. Crawford Shatters Global Viewership Records on Netflix
    By Dong Secuya, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Crawford Not the First Lightweight to Distinguish Himself at Super Middleweight
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Kurt Scoby and Josh Popper Headline Boxing Insider Card September 19 in Times Square
    , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Green and Gold 2025: Amateur Boxing’s International Gathering in Bolivia
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 17 Sep 2025
  • Pakistan's Sameer Khan Set to Battle for UBO Youth World Title in Brico Santig’s Sep 27 Show in Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • SAMBO Pilipinas is Southern NSA of the Year 2025
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh To headline historic “Legacy Nights” Inaugural Pro Boxing event in El Salvador
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Smarts over power
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.