Former featherweight titleholder and two-time Olympic gold medalist Robbie Ramirez has set his sights on the fighter who dethroned him, Rafael Espinoza.
Ramirez returned to the ring and stopped Brandon Benitez in the seventh round of their bout on Saturday at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach.
The Cuban-born Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) famously lost his pro debut but went on to win 13 straight bouts before suffering an upset loss to fellow Mexican Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) last December in a bout that was a Fight of the Year candidate and ended with both fighters on the mat, but Espinoza won by majority decision.
“My goal is to unify the belts, but I have to win them first,” said Ramirez, who defeated Benitez. “If the rematch with Rafael Espinoza happens, that will be order number one. Then I'll have the opportunity to look forward to the unification fight.”
Ramirez thrilled the Miami crowd after his December loss with a highlight-point knockout of Mexico's 26-year-old Benitez (21-3, 9 KOs). The knockout could be a contender for the knockout of the year award, and Ramirez has his sights set on a matchup with Espinoza. Espinoza has discussed a rematch with Ramirez since defeating Sergio Chirino by fourth-round technical knockout in Las Vegas last week.
“I know there are guys out there who want a rematch,” Espinoza said. “I'm going to take some time off and then I'm going to have my staff talk to the promoter and do what's best for me.”
Ramirez was also asked about 27-year-old featherweight prospect Bruce Carrington (12-0, 8 KOs), known affectionately as “Shush” (“Shush”), to which Ramirez replied, “Shush” is a dear friend of mine. If he's on the opponent list, I'd be happy to take the fight.”
