José Luis Ramírez (born December 3, 1958) is a Mexican former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who was a two-time World Lightweight Champion.

Career

A native of Huatabampo, Sonora and a resident of

Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both the Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531, by the Spanish conquerors Lázar ...

, Ramírez made his professional debut on March 25, 1973 at the age of 15. He climbed slowly but steadily on boxing's rankings. In 1978, as a Featherweight, a 19 year old Ramírez lost by knockout for the only time in his career to legendary three time former world champion

Rubén Olivares Rubén Olivares Avila (born January 14, 1947) is a Mexican former professional boxer and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame., Olivares was a world champion multiple times, and considered by many as the greatest bantamweight champio ...

in two rounds. After his move in weight to the Lightweights, 21-year-old Ramírez accumulated a record of 67-2, and met another boxing legend inside the ring, when he fought

Alexis Argüello Alexis Argüello (April 19, 1952 – July 1, 2009) was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA featherweight title from 1974 to 19 ...

. Ramírez dropped Argüello for the first time in his career in round six, but lost a disputed ten round split decision in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

.Chandler's Booty: A Belt of Gold
''The Miami News''. November 15, 1980. He then faced Ray Mancini for the North American Lightweight belt, and lost a 12 round decision in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. By then, Ramírez and Julio César Chávez were gymmates and friends. Ramírez won his following 10 bouts and on May 1, 1983, he was given the chance at becoming world Lightweight champion for the first time, when he fought Puerto Rican Edwin "El Chapo" Rosario at the

Coliseo Roberto Clemente Roberto Clemente Coliseum (Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the largest. General infor ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

, for the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

's championship. Ramírez lost a close 12 round unanimous decision, but on November 3, of 1984, he and Rosario had a rematch, also in San Juan. After rising from two knockdowns, Ramírez rallied back to stagger Rosario in the third round. With Rosario pinned against a corner and Ramírez attacking, referee Steve Crosson stopped the bout in round four, after Ramírez had landed 17 straight punches, making Ramírez a world Lightweight champion for the first time, by a technical knockout. The fight was named the 1984 Ring Magazine fight of the year. Ramírez then went into training for a defense against

Héctor Camacho Héctor Luís Camacho Matías (May 24, 1962 – November 24, 2012), commonly known by his nickname "Macho" Camacho, was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and entertainer. Known for his quickness in the ring and flamboyant style, Camacho compet ...

, another boxer from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. The fight was postponed when Camacho suffered a broken ankle during a pick up

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

game, but it finally came off on August 10, 1985. On his first fight telecast on

HBO Boxing ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' (in later years stylized in its title card as ''HBO Boxing – World Championship'') was an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973 with a fight that ...

, Ramírez was dropped in round three and lost a 12 round unanimous decision. Ramírez, a culturally intellectual person, moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

soon after. There, he re-grouped, and was able to regain the WBC's world championship when Camacho left it vacant in 1987, by edging out

Terrence Alli Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought T ...

with another close but unanimous 12 round decision. In his first title defense, he defeated former champion

Cornelius Boza-Edwards Cornelius Boza-Edwards (born Cornelius Bbosa; 27 May 1956) is the former WBC Super Featherweight Champion of the World. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he fought in both the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions. He emigrated from Uganda to En ...

by fifth round knock out. In his second defense, he was awarded a 12 round split decision victory against future multiple world champion

Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...

. The consensus among both United States and English media and fans was that Whitaker deserved to win the fight. European and Latin American media and fans agreed it was the right decision. Back in Mexico, he and Chávez were neighbors. Chávez had lifted the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

's world Lightweight championship by beating Rosario, and a unification bout between the two friends and neighbors was planned. Ramírez, who is a godfather to one of Chávez's sons, lost an 11 round technical decision to Chávez on October 29 of 1988, which marked the last day he would be a world champion. In 1989, he tried to win the International Boxing Federation's belt from Whitaker, in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, but he lost a 12 round decision. Then, in 1990, he returned to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where he lost to Juan Martin Coggi by a decision in 12 for the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title in Ajaccio. After that bout, he retired. Ramírez was a member of the less recognized, defunct ''World Boxing Hall of Fame'' in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, not to be confused with the more widely recognized

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

Canastota Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,804 at the 2010 census. The village of Canastota is in the southern part of the Town of Lenox. Canastota High School is loc ...

. In 2003, Ring magazine placed Ramirez on their list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time. His boxing record is 102–9 (82 KOs). Seven of Ramirez's nine career losses came against future Hall Of Fame members.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* 1958 births Lightweight boxers Living people Mexican male boxers Boxers from Sonora People from Huatabampo Southpaw boxers World boxing champions , - {{s-end

Career

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links