Avenal's Ramirez to make Valley boxing debut in Lemoore's WHC Golden Eagle Arena

Wednesday, September 4, 2013 - 6:58pm

Jose Ramirez in an earlier professional bout.

It may not match the historical hype of “Rumble in the Jungle” or the “Thrilla’ in Manila,” but promoters and boxing enthusiasts, particularly in Lemoore, are excited about the announcement that Jose Ramirez, an Olympian, professional boxer, and the pride of Avenal, is bringing his considerable boxing skills to Lemoore, just a short right hook from his hometown.

The boxing match, the first to be held in the West Hills College Lemoore Golden Eagle Arena, will be the main event on Nov. 9 at the Lemoore college campus and will be Ramirez’s Valley professional debut, as well as the next step in what Ramirez hopes is his march to a world championship belt.

Ramirez is currently 5-0 with four knockouts as a professional boxer and hopes to make it 6-0 when he meets Denver’s Daniel Calzada in a scheduled six-round fight in Carson on Sept. 28.

As an amateur Ramirez has won 130 fights, 10 major championships and five consecutive national titles. The bout will be nationally broadcast on the Univision owned channel Unimas as part of the famed Tecate Solo Boxeo with Ramirez as the main event.

Ramirez’s agent and promoter, Rick Mirigian, is touting the fact that legendary promoter Bob Arum and CEO of Top Rank Boxing, which put together this fight, will attend the pre-fight news conference and weigh-ins on Nov. 7.

Mirigian is particularly pleased with the venue, saying the $30 million arena, is a perfect place for championship boxing.

Tickets for the bout will go on sale Sept. 16 and range from $20 to $125. The can be purchased at the Tachi Palace website www.tachipalace.com or calling 1-8664PALACE. They can also be purchased at the Palace gift shop.

The fight is actually a Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino event, but due to the popularity of Ramirez, organizers needed a larger venue, and contacted West Hills College Lemoore. The Palace has long hosted professional boxing.

Ramirez is rapidly becoming a boxing sensation racking up endorsements and investors like actor Mark Wahlberg and music mogul Sean Combs.

The fight is being labeled as the “Fight for Water,” after Ramirez’s hooked up with the Latino Water Coalition following his return from the London Olympic Games in 2012. He expressed an interest in helping with water issues in the Central Valley. He and his family struggled first hand and when the water didn’t flow, times got even harder for his family, who relied on the field work and farming industry.