LOS ANGELES (October 29, 2024) – Super flyweight contender John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) learned an invaluable lesson last June at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, when he lost for the first time as a professional to Fernando David Jimenez (16-1), by way of a 12-round unanimous decision, for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Flyweight title.
Unless your last name is Marciano, Mayweather, Calzaghe, Lopez or Ward, prizefighters generally don’t retire without a loss on their record. How a fighter responds to his or her first defeat is pivotal, because they either learn from the experience and improve, or go the opposite direction.
“Scrappy” Ramirez is coming back to the ring with a vengeance, as well as a new outlook for the South Los Angeles fighter.
“I learned I have what it takes to be world champion,” Ramirez said. “I took the loss and, instead of complaining, right after that fight I started to think about what had happened and why. I have the skills and I’m capable of being world champion, but I fought his (Jimenez) fight. My next fight I won’t be fighting on emotion, I’ll be using my brain. I need to use my brain, not my heart. It was a good fight and entertaining, but it wasn’t my night. Personally, I gained confidence, as crazy as that may sound in a loss. I know I belong here.
“I want to fix what went wrong. I have high expectations and so do my fans because they see my talent. I’ve only been fighting eight years. I get mad sometimes because I haven’t mastered my craft, but it takes time. I have to keep going and embrace my training.”
For the first time in his relatively short pro career – he made his debut December 18, 2020 – the WBA No. 6 rated Ramirez will be training for the first time after a loss at Brickhouse Boxing Club in North Hollywood, California.
“I’m not training as hard every day because I’m taking better care of my body,” Ramirez explained. “I’ve come up with some new things by studying old-school fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns. I’m fine-tuning my skills. I made a mistake fighting with my heart instead of my head. No drastic changes in my training, though. I’m working on throwing more counters. I’m a big 115-pounder who just walked down my opponent. I’m going to use my jab – I have a good one – and my feet instead of sitting in the pocket and catching everything.
“It’s all part of the process. I’m not happy it (loss) happened. I lost my first world title fight and in my second I’ll be the winner and show everybody the type of character I have as a man. I’ll take the next opportunity to show my growth”
According to the 28-year-old Ramirez, the plan is for him to have two more fights, hopefully one by the end of this year, before he’s in another world title fight, preferably against Jimenez, assuming he still has the strap.
“I want a rematch with this guy (Jimenez), partly because he has the belt, but to prove to myself I can beat him,” Ramirez admitted. “He did everything we saw on film: he came forward and didn’t tire. No surprises. I need to fight my fight, not his, to prove myself to the world. ‘Scrappy’ needs to fight his fight!
“I’ve reflected on that fight, and I was capable of beating him. He has a big amateur pedigree, so it was a confidence builder for me in defeat.”
In retrospect, everything may have happened too fast for “Scrappy,” who has only been fighting eight years, including a brief stint as an amateur, and then he was moved quickly in the pro ranks, even fighting several times during the COVID pandemic. Before you knew it, he was headlining shows and found himself in the enviable position as undefeated WBA mandatory contender.
“Everything really happened so fast,” Ramirez concluded, “but I now know that it takes a long time to master my craft. I’m enjoying this process and I’m happy right now. I got used to things happening fast for me. I’m trusting the process. I chose this life.
“I’m not running away from this situation, and I’ll handle it the next time I fight for the world title. I can’t blame anybody for what happened, because once I step into the ring, it’s just me and my opponent. I screwed up but the next world title shot I’ll get it right.”
“Scrappy” Ramirez is a charter member of 3 Point Management (3 PM), which has a growing stable of gifted boxers including WBA Cruiserweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs), WBA No. 6-rated super middleweight Darius “DFG” Fulgham (12-0, 10 KOs), and former WBA Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs)