FRESNO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 25: Richard Commey (L) and Jose Ramirez (R) exchange punches during their junior welterweight fight at Save Mart Center on March 25, 2023 in Fresno, California. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
FRESNO, Calif. – Whoever Jose Ramirez fights, he always draws a crowd, particularly Saturday night.
Ramirez dropped former IBF world lightweight titleholder Richard Commey twice en route to an eleventh round knockout win before a loud and partisan crowd of 11,201 at the Save Mart Center.
Ramirez, who grew up in nearby Avenal and has become a staple of big crowds, improved to 28-1, 18 knockouts.
The clash between Ramirez and Commey was a WBC world title elimination bout. Ramirez did decline an opportunity to fight newly-crowned WBC world titleholder Regis Prograis.
From the opening bell, both Ramirez and Commey were on the attack, producing back-and-forth exchanges in the center of the ring. Both connected with counters and hooks to the head, with neither fighter looking stunned from the punches they received.
Ramirez began to focus his attack more to the body in the second round, connecting with left hooks to Commey’s body. Ramirez did his best work while Commey had his back against the ropes or a corner.
The action slowed down during the third round, but Ramirez continued to fight on his front foot, throwing and landing two and three-punch combinations to the head, mixing in a left hook to Commey’s body. Commey looked for openings in Ramirez’s guard to counter with hooks and uppercuts.
As the fight moved into the later rounds, Ramirez continued to walk Commey down. To his credit, Commey continued staying in the pocket when necessary, but fought in spurts as he looked to connect with his own series of combinations.
Midway through the seventh round, a well-time counter right cross by Commey momentarily shook Ramirez. Commey attempted to follow up, but Ramirez was able to recover and attempted to put Commey on the defensive. Despite dealing with some swelling around his right eye, Commey continued to connect with straight and counter right hands to the head, particularly in round nine. Undaunted, Ramirez continued to do his best work on the inside.
Within moments of the start of round 11, Ramirez scored a knockdown of Commey, who did not look visibly hurt as he beat the count. Ramirez was on the attack, stalking Commey. Later in the round, a well-placed left hook to the stomach, forcing Commey to turn away and drop to one knee. Referee Jack Reiss counted Commey out at 2:31.
Ramirez was fighting for the first time since March 4 of last year, when he defeated Jose Pedraza by unanimous decision. Ramirez lost to Ring Magazine junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor in May 2021 in a unification fight for the undisputed championship at 140 pounds.
In a post-fight interview after the fight, Ramirez did say he hopes to face any of the world titleholders in the division, including Regis Prograis. He hopes to return to the ring in September.
Commey, who resides in Accra, Ghana, drops to 30-5-1, 27 KOs. The 36-year-old Commey has only won once in his last five bouts and was coming off a split-decision draw against Pedraza in his previous fight on August 27.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]
Follow @FSalazarBoxing
