Former light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez will face veteran Lances Barthelemy in the main event, while Vergil Ortiz Jr. will take on Thomas Delhomme in a co-feature on DAZN on April 27 in Fresno, California.
mike coppinger report The two bouts will be on the April 27 card, with former super featherweight champion Joseph “Jojo” Diaz Jr. facing recently KOed Oscar Duarte.
Ramirez's return and interesting matchmaking
This will be Ramirez's first fight since signing with Golden Boy Promotions, a 31-year-old former WBC/WBO 140-pound champion. Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) will be returning from a 13-month layoff following his 11th-round knockout win over Richard Commey in March 2023.
Golden Boy Promotions is pitting Ramirez against 37-year-old former two-division world champion Barthelemy (30-2-1, 15 KOs) other than the need for a year of post-fight conditioning. nothing is said about it. lay off. This will be Ramirez's third fight since losing to Josh Taylor in 2021.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. Gets Soft Touch Again
Even more troubling is why 25-year-old Vergil Ortiz Jr., returning from a three-year layoff, would fight Dulorme (25-6-1, 16 KOs), who is on a three-fight losing streak.
Delhomme, 34, last fought in 2021 and hasn't won a match in five years since 2019. Why would Golden Boy pit Delhomme against Ortiz, the No. 1 WBA 154-pound contender, instead of one of the top 15 ranked fighters in the junior middleweight division?
Ortiz last fought in January, knocking out Fredrick Lawson in the first round. After that win, Virgil will need to fight a higher level opponent, especially since he is the number one contender for WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov's belt.
Jojo Diaz's fight continues
Former IBF super featherweight champion Joseph “Jojo” Diaz (33-5, 15 KOs) has lost four of his last five fights, coming off a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Javier Fortuna in July 2021. I haven't won since.
Jojo Diaz's last fight was a shocking 10-round split decision loss to Jesus Antonio Perez Campos in February of last year. Campos entered this game having lost five of his last eight games.
It's clear that Jojo needs to be washed up at this stage in his career and consider retirement. He will face Duarte (26-2-1, 21 KOs), who was knocked out by Ryan Garcia in the eighth round last December.
