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Arizona Whiz Kid Jesus Ramos has a Big Upside and an interesting Back Story

If all the pieces come together, the PBC card on Feb. 5 at Mandalay Bay will have a distinct Arizona flavor. Welterweight Abel Ramos, the pride of Casa Grande, is in the co-feature against Josesito Lopez, a two-time world title challenger. Phoenix featherweights Keenan Carbajal and Carlos Castro step up in class with Leo Santa Cruz (Carbajal) and Luis Nery (Castro) providing the opposition. And Abel Ramos’s nephew, fast rising super welterweight Jesus Ramos, takes on upset-maker Vladimir Hernandez.
Abel Ramos followed his split-decision loss to Yordenis Ugas with his career-best performance, a six-round demolition of Omar Figueroa. If he gets past the veteran Lopez, as expected, he will likely fight the winner of the featured attraction which sees Keith Thurman returning to the ring after a 31-month absence to meet Mario Barrios. A rematch with new WBA champion Ugas, who dethroned Manny Pacquiao, is also a possibility. However, it is the younger Ramos, 20-year-old Jesus Ramos, who is attracting the most buzz. Currently 17-0 (14 KOs), he has the look of a future star.
Boxing is family tradition in the Ramos households in Casa Grande, a fast-growing city of 55,000 that sits 45 miles south of Phoenix and 70 miles north of Tucson. Jesus’s father boxed as an amateur as did Abel’s father and his two brothers. In recent years, the family has become more identified with boxing with the opening of the Ramos Boxing Academy, a gym that sits in a large shopping mall known as the Promenade. It serves people aged seven and up, both active and aspiring boxers and folks that just want to stay physically fit.
Jesus Ramos and his three younger siblings were born in Casa Grande to immigrants from the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Jesus’s father had an assortment of jobs, including that of a welder and a mailman, before developments allowed him to pursue his passion as a full-time boxing coach. When he is at home, Jesus gets to practice at the academy in a regulation-size ring as opposed to the miniature ring in the family garage that was his pitch when he was first starting out.
His parents gave him his nickname “Mono.” It’s a word with many meanings when translated to English, but here the reference is to an action figure of a mischievous little boy. Every pay-per-fight was an opportunity for a family get-together and the young Jesus soaked it all in, “not just the fight,” he says, “but the ring walk, the music; every little detail.” His favorite fighters were Ricardo “Finito” Lopez and Marco Antonio Barrera, both Future Hall of Famers, and he aspired to follow in their footsteps.
Jesus turned pro at age 17 in Mexico. In recent years, that’s become a common pathway for precocious West Coast boxers who are too young to compete as professionals in the United States because of age requirements. Devin Haney and David Benavidez come quickly to mind among other U.S.-born boxers that started their pro careers as teenagers in Mexico.
Jesus Ramos had his first eight fights in Mexico in places like Cheer’s Bar, a raucous, two-story, late-night dance hall in Tijuana. Judging by his motley competition – none of his opponents lasted beyond the second round – he would have been better served by staying an amateur, but he disagrees, saying it was good preparation for a career in a sport where the unexpected is normal. He laughs when he recalls the time when he found upon entering the ring that his opponent was a different guy than the fellow he faced-off against at the weigh-in.
Precocious boxers tend to quit school early, or be home-schooled if they wish to stay on track to earn a diploma. But Jesus managed to attend class with his chums including a semester at the local junior college while juggling school with his burgeoning boxing career. “My parents [his mom is a pre-school teacher] didn’t believe in home schooling,” he says. “They wanted me to have a normal life.”
This past October, Jesus Ramos was honored at his high school’s homecoming football game. He was on the field for the ceremonial coin toss and gave a pre-game pep talk to the team. Vista Grande High School is a fairly new school without much of a sports tradition, but on that Friday afternoon they turned away visiting Yuma High by a 28-20 score.
Perhaps Jesus has a future as a motivational speaker, but he has other thoughts about his life after boxing. With his ring earnings he bought a 26-foot delivery truck (no, he doesn’t plan to drive it), with an eye toward branching out into the trucking business. Down the road, he envisions building a gym in Flagstaff, Arizona, that would be dedicated wholly to boxing.
Casa Grande is on the Sonoran Desert. During June, July, and August, the high temperature seldom dips below 100 degrees. Flagstaff, surrounded by mountains, is in northern Arizona and weather-wise it might just as well be in Montana. In the winter months, it can get brutally cold.
When Jesus Ramos looks at Flagstaff, he is reminded of Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he spent many weeks while serving as a sparring partner for Terence Crawford. Both cities are more than a mile above sea level and the altitude is considered ideal for athletes, especially those that participate in sports that place a premium on stamina.
Flagstaff is on Ramos’s radar screen for another reason. It is home to Northern Arizona University where his sister Briana is a freshman. It’s all about family with the Ramos’s and Briana is undoubtedly the only person in the NIU girls’ dormitory that can claim to have once worked in the corner of a professional boxer.
Briana was pressed into service on the day after Christmas of 2020 at the Shrine Expo Center in Los Angeles when other members of the Ramos family were spending the holidays with kinfolk in Sinaloa. This was a so-called “bubble show,” a show held without fans because of the pandemic with tight restrictions as to the number of people each combatant was allowed to bring with him. Briana was put in charge of the stool. “She was more nervous than me,” recalls Jesus who made it easy on his little sister by bringing the fight to a premature conclusion. His opponent was pulled out after four rounds.
Jesus and his uncle Abel, 10 years older than Jesus, have been preparing for their Feb. 5 assignments in Las Vegas. With them is a quiet young man, Abelardo Loya, a registered nurse from Chihuahua, who has been conscripted as a massage therapist. And how did he come to be part of Team Ramos? “He’s Abel’s girlfriend’s cousin,” explains Jesus.
Jesus “Mono” Ramos, it says here, has a big upside. And as he advances, Casa Grande’s first family of boxing will attract more notice, perhaps eventually rivaling Southern California’s fighting Garcias’ (Eduardo, Robert, and Mikey) as a noted family dynasty.
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Oscar Duarte KOs Miguel Madueno in a Battle of Mexicans at Anaheim

No surprise. It was a Mexican beat down.
Oscar Duarte emerged victorious over fellow Mexican slugger Miguel Madueno by knockout to become a regional WBA super lightweight titlist on Saturday.
“Miguel (Madueno) is a gentleman and a warrior,” said Duarte. “He is a tough fighter but it was our night tonight.”
Chihuahua, Mexico’s Duarte (29-2-1, 23 KOs) started slowly but brutally stopped Sinaloa, Mexico’s Madueno who had never been knocked out before. The crowd at Honda Center in Anaheim roared its approval.
Not even new world titlist Keyshawn Davis was able to stop Madueno last July.
The taller Madueno opened up the first two rounds behind a stiff jab and some movement around the stalking style of Duarte. Though both Mexican fighters connected, it was Madueno who opened up stronger.
Then came the body shots.
“I knew he was going to move around when he felt my punches,” said Duarte.
The muscular Duarte had built a career as an inside fighter specializing in body shots. In the third round the light brown haired Duarte finally targeted the body and immediately saw results. Madueno had to change tactics.
Duarte had lost to Ryan Garcia by knockout 14 months ago in Texas. But since that loss he became the first to defeat Jojo Diaz by knockout and then last November beat down Uzbekistan’s Botirzhon Akhmedov. He was scheduled to fight Regis Prograis but an injury to the former world champion forced Madueno to step in as a replacement.
No matter.
Duarte began revving up the steamroller from the third round on with a pounding assault to the body and head that would not allow Madueno to dig in. A left hook to the chin by Duarte wobbled the Sinaloa fighter who had fought many times under the Thompson Boxing flag. The now departed Ken Thompson must have been proud at Madueno’s valiant performance.
It just wasn’t enough.
Madueno had success bouncing overhand rights on Duarte’s head but it was not enough. He battled through brutal exchanges and kept battling but the muscle-bound Duarte could not be halted.
In the fifth round Madueno tried to return to the long jabs and though he had early success, Duarte unleashed a three-punch combination to stop the nonsense. They both battled in a corner and Madueno emerged with blood streaming down his left eye. The referee ruled the cut was due to a blow.
“I felt his punches and I knew he was coming down,” Duarte said.
Duarte sensed the kill and opened up the sixth round with a bludgeoning six-punch volley. Madueno countered with a clean left hook. It was not a good exchange and it looked bad for the Sinaloan.
In the seventh round, Duarte looked like a Rhino that had just sharpened his horn and charged forward with bloodlust. The Chihuahua Mexican seemed determined to end the fight and connected with a right that staggered Madueno. Duarte followed up quickly with 17 more big blows to the body and head. Referee Thomas Taylor stepped in with a veering Madueno against the ropes and stopped the fight at 2:09 of the seventh round.
Duarte became the first man ever to defeat Madueno by knockout.
Now holding a regional WBA title, he is poised to fight for a world title.
“I’ll fight any champion. Let’s do it right now,” Duarte said.
Other Bouts
Houston’s Darius Fulgham (14-0, 12 KOs) proved too much for Detroit’s Winfred Harris Jr. (22-3-2) in overwhelming the clinching fighter and forcing a stoppage in the fourth round of their super middleweight bout. Fulgham was in control in every round that included a knockdown in the third round. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the beating.
Light flyweight Ricardo Sandoval (26-2, 18 KOs) soundly defeated the speedy Saleto Henderson (10-2, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision after 10 rounds. Both fighters showed off great chins but the taller Sandoval out-punched Henderson. Two judges scored it 100-90 for Sandoval and a third judge had it 98-92.

Ricardo Sandoval
An entertaining welterweight clash saw Chicago’s Kenneth Sims Jr. (22-2-1, 8 KOs) outpoint San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda (21-8, 9 KOs) but in the latter part of the match both slugged it out. The fans were pleased by the action. All three judges favored Sims 99-91 twice and 98-92, but Castaneda proved he was not overmatched.
Bakersfield’s Joel Iriarte (6-0, 6 KOs) had no problems against Darel Harris (19-24-2) who he stopped at 1:21 of the second round in a welterweight clash.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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Arnold Barboza Edges Past Jack Catterall in Manchester

In a battle between elite counter-punchers Southern California’s Arnold Barboza Jr. slightly out-worked Jack Catterall in England to win a razor-close split decision and become the interim WBO super lightweight titlist on Saturday.
“It was a chess match,” said Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing.
Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) managed to overcome a hostile British crowd to defeat hometown favorite Catterall (30-2, 13 KOs) in a battle between defensive masters at the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester.
It was a match made for boxing purists who love the art of feints and counter-punches that are a major part of orthodox fighter Barboza and the southpaw Catterall. It was a fight that harkened back to the battle between Sugar Ray Leonard and Wilfredo Benitez in 1979.
Feints and more feints.
Neither fighter looked to give up ground from the first round until the last. Each was cognizant of the other’s ability to counter-strike.
Catterall benefited early from the hometown crowd. With few blows fired and even fewer blows landing, the crowd’s roars for the local fighter might have registered with the judges. Though neither fighter connected more than a dozen punches in any round, the crowd was more pleased with “El Gato” Catterall’s efforts.
No round was clear-cut.
Barboza began to increase his tempo around the third round. Though the fighter from El Monte, California never loaded up on his punches, he was more ready to risk receive incoming blows from Catterall. And they did come.
Perhaps it was Barboza’s steadier use of the jab to the chest and head that made the difference. And when the Californian opened-up with combinations, Catterall was ready with jolting lefts. If not for Barboza’s chin he might have hit the deck from the blows.
In the seventh round Barboza found the target for repeated right hand leads. One after another connected. And when it looked like he might overrun the British fighter, things turned around as Catterall connected below the belt. When Barboza complained to the referee, Catterall delivered three head blows at the end of the round. The referee ruled the blow was low, but still, the follow-up blows did land.
It was anyone’s fight.
From the ninth round on Barboza took the lead as the aggressor while Catterall maintained his counter-punching mode. Though neither fighter could gain separation, Barboza was slightly busier and that may have proved the difference in the final four rounds.
Catterall connected with the heavier punches throughout the fight. But he just never opened-up with combinations and settled for counters. And though he connected often with single blows, combinations were rarely fired by the Manchester fighter. But he was always in the fight.
No knockdowns were scored and after 12 rounds one judge saw Catterall the winner 115-113, but two others gave Barboza the win by 115-113 to become the number one contender for the WBO super lightweight title.
“Since I was little I just wanted respect,” said Barboza. “I got my respect today.”
Catterall was gracious in defeat.
“It was a tricky fight,” Catterall said. “I thought I just did enough.”
Barboza said he does not care who he fights next.
“Anybody can get it,” he said.
Other Bouts
Super featherweight Reece “The Bomber” Bellotti (20-5,15 KOs) belted Michael Gomez Jr. throughout 10 rounds with body shots. Twice he floored Gomez with shots to the liver until the fight was stopped at the end of the ninth round by technical knockout.
In another super featherweight clash James Dickens (35-5, 14 KOs) repeatedly out-maneuvered Zelfa Barrett (31-3, 17 KOs) to win by unanimous decision after 10 rounds.
Welterweight Pat McCormack (7-0, 6 KOs) blasted out veteran Robbie Davies Jr. (24-6) with three knockdowns in six rounds. The fight was stopped at the end of the sixth round in a scheduled 10-round fight.
Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom
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Results and Recaps from Madison Square Garden where Keyshawn Davis KO’d Berinchyk

Top Rank was at the Theater at Madison Square Garden tonight. The main event of the 9-bout card was a battle between Olympic silver medalists Keyshawn Davis and Denys Berinchyk. A 36-year-old Ukrainian, Berinchyk was making the first defense of the WBO world lightweight title he won with an upset of Emanuel Navarrete.
Berinchyk, who turned pro at age 27, was undefeated heading in (19-0, 9 KOs), but Norfolk’s Davis, a stablemate of Terence Crawford, is big for the weight and was the younger man by 11 years and the oddsmakers anticipated that the title would change hands.
Berinchyk has an awkward style which lends itself to messy fights and this match was headed in that direction before Davis took charge in the third frame. He put the Ukrainian on the deck with a left to the body and finished the job in the next round with a wicked punch to the liver that sent Berincjyk to his knees, wincing in pain.
He wasn’t able to beat the count and Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) emerged the new champion. The official time was 1:45 of round four.
Co-Feature
Xander Zayas, ranked #1 at junior middleweight by the WBO, scored a ninth-round stoppage of hard-trying but out-classed Slawa Spomer (20-1). During the fight, Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) worked the body effectively. Several of those punches strayed south of the border, but it was a legitimate body punch that spelled the end for Germany’s Spomer who was fighting for the first time with Roy Jones Jr in his corner. That punch, a left to the body, was followed by a barrage that led referee Charlie Fitch to step in and stop it. The official time was 2:01 of round nine.
Zayas, fighting for the seventh time at Madison Square Garden, moved one step closer to a title fight.
The first of three fights on the main ESPN platform was a well-matched middleweight contest between Vito Mielnicki Jr and Connor Coyle. In his debut at 160, Mielnicki, the pride of Roseland, New Jersey, seemingly did enough to edge it, but only one of the judges agreed (96-94) whereas the other two had it 95-95, producing a draw. The pro Mielnicki crowd booed the decision.
After the entertaining fourth round, Mielnicki was bleeding from his mouth and Coyle from a cut on the side of his left eye that would eventually bleed more profusely.
The 22-year-old Mielnicki, the younger man by 12 years, failed to win his 13th straight. He’s now 20-1-1. The 34-year-old Coyle, from Pinellas Park, Florida by way of Derby, Northern Ireland, remains undefeated at 21-0-1 and will presumably retain his lofty ranking (#3) in the World Boxing Association.
More
The final fight of the ESPN+ livestream showcased the 19-year-old son of Puerto Rican crowd-pleaser Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez, a former two-division world title-holder. “Juanmita” Lopez De Jesus did his dad proud, needing only 59 seconds to put away Bryan Santiago in a super flyweight contest slated for four rounds.
A second-generation Olympian, “Juanmita,” was stepping down in class after coming up short in his last start against two-time gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov in the 2024 Paris Games. He ended the contest with a short left hook that put Santiago (1-2-1) down hard, flat on his back.
Abdullah Mason, a 20-year-old, baby-faced assassin from Cleveland continued his rapid ascent up the lightweight ranks with a fourth-round blowout of Stockton, California’s Manuel Jaimes. It was the fifteenth win inside the distance in 17 starts for the undefeated Mason who has lightning-quick hands and appears destined for great things.
Jaimes (16-3-1) had lasted 10 rounds with perennial title challenger Rolly Romero in his last outing and hadn’t previously been stopped. He was on the canvas four times before referee David Fields waived it off at the 1:55 mark of round four.
Rising welterweight contender Rohan Polanco who represented the Dominican Republic in the Tokyo Olympiad, advanced to 15-0 (10 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Puerto Rico’s Jean Carlos Torres (22-2). The official time was 1:48 of round two.
Polanco, who trains in Boston, decked Torres with a left-right combination in the opening frame and dropped him again in round two with a left hook. Torres was on his feet but on spaghetti legs when referee Eddie Claudio stepped in and stopped it.
Lanky welterweight Keon Davis, the youngest of the three fighting Davis brothers, improved to 2-0 with a second-round stoppage of Kansas City, Missouri plumber Ira Johnson (3-3). Davis had Johnson on the canvas twice before the bout was finished with Johnson showing no inclination to get up after the second knockdown.
Jared Anderson was expected to win as he pleased against unheralded Marios Kollias, but was extended the full 10-round distance by the Greek invader before prevailing on scores of 98-92 and 99-91 twice.
Despite the wide scorecards, Anderson looked very ordinary in a fight that was fought at a glacial pace. Coming off a humbling defeat to Martin Bakole who roughed-him-up and stopped him, the “Real Big Baby” needed a good showing to restore some of his lost luster but failed to deliver while advancing his record to 18-1 (15).
The only drama was whether Kollias (12-4-1) would moon the crowd on a St. Valentine’s Day as his shorts kept slipping down below the wide strap of his rubber groin protector. They never did fall completely down thanks to referee Fields who repeatedly stopped the action to pull them up.
In the lid-lifter, Chicago construction worker Juan Carlos Guerra (6-1-1) scored a split decision over Nico Ali Walsh (11-2-1). Two judges favored Guerra by 58-56 scores with the dissenter favoring Ali Walsh by the same margin.
Guerra was the aggressor and Ali Walsh, whose career has stalled, didn’t have enough steam in his jab to deter him.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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