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Jose
Ramirez vs. Richard Commey & Seniesa Estrada vs. Tina
Rupprecht Title Unification Set For Mar. 25
The fighting pride of California’s Central Valley and one of
boxing’s pound-for-pound queens are joining forces for a
special Fresno Fight Night.
Former unified 140-pound world champion Jose Ramirez will
meet former lightweight world champion Richard “RC” Commey
in the 12-round junior welterweight main event Saturday,
March 25, at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
The co-feature will be a world title unification clash, as
WBA minimumweight world champion Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada
collides with WBC world champion Tina Rupprecht.
Ramirez-Commey and Estrada-Rupprecht will be broadcast live
on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with DiBella
Entertainment, tickets starting at $29 go on sale go on sale
Friday, Jan. 13 at 10 a.m. PT and can be purchased at
Ticketmaster.com and the Arena Box Office.
Ramirez (27-1, 17 KOs), from Avenal, California, returns
home to the friendly confines of the Save Mart Center, which
has hosted six of his previous fights. Following his 2021
decision defeat to Josh Taylor for the undisputed junior
welterweight title, Ramirez rebounded last March with a
unanimous decision victory over former two-weight world
champion Jose Pedraza. He has been among the sport’s best
140-pounders since winning the WBC world title over Amir
Imam in March 2018. After defending that title twice,
Ramirez stopped Maurice Hooker in six brutal rounds to unify
the WBC and WBO titles. Ramirez retained both belts with a
hard-fought majority decision over Viktor Postol in August
2020, a win that set up the Taylor showdown.
“Fresno and the Save Mart Center hold a special place in my
heart, and I am blessed to be able fight in front of my
Central Valley fans once again,” Ramirez said. “Richard
Commey is a championship fighter with everything to gain. I
expect the best version of Commey on March 25. My goal is to
become champion again, and I am more motivated than ever to
prove that I am the best junior welterweight in the world.”
"Ramirez is motivated like I have never seen, and he's out
to prove some things,” said Rick Mirigian, Ramirez’s
manager. “It all starts in Fresno in front of 15,000
hometown fans."
Commey (30-4-1, 27 KOs), from Accra, Ghana, made his name as
one of the sport’s top lightweights, winning Commonwealth
honors before capturing the IBF world title in February
2019. His title reign lasted 10 months, as he knocked out
former world champion Ray Beltran before a stunning
second-round stoppage defeat to Teofimo Lopez at Madison
Square Garden. Commey’s lightweight run ended with a
December 2021 decision loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko. Last
August, in his junior welterweight debut, he fought to a
10-round draw against Pedraza.
Commey said, “I want to thank my team for putting me on the
path to fulfilling my dream of becoming a two-weight world
champion. I also want to thank Bob Arum and Top Rank for
once again showing faith in me by allowing me to headline
against a formidable opponent in Jose Ramirez. I’m up for
the challenge, and I intend to make Ghana and all my fans
around the world proud."
Estrada (23-0, 9 KOs), from East Los Angeles, California,
returns to her home state intent on unifying world titles
for the first time in her decorated career. The 30-year-old
veteran turned pro nearly a dozen years ago and has competed
at the world class level in three weight classes. In 2021,
she captured the WBA minimumweight and WBO light flyweight
titles in consecutive fights. Estrada then vacated the light
flyweight title to pursue undisputed glory at minimumweight.
She signed with Top Rank last year and returned from a
nearly 11-month layoff in November to shut out Jazmin Gala
Villarino.
“I want to give Tina credit for being a world champion who
isn’t afraid of a unification fight, unlike Yokasta Valle,”
Estrada said. “Since we couldn’t get Yokasta into the ring,
we decided to do one better and fight the woman who beat
her. The Fresno fans are passionate, and they are in for a
great show.”
Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs), from Augsburg, Germany, has made
five defenses of her world title after being elevated from
interim champion in 2018. Earlier that year, she toppled
Valle, who is the current IBF and WBO unified minimumweight
world champion In July 2021, Rupprecht edged former world
champion Katia Gutierrez by split decision. Following more
than a year away from the ring, she shook off the ring rust
to dominate Peruvian veteran Rocio Gaspar to set up the
Estrada showdown. Rupprecht has fought all but one of her
pro bouts in Germany and will make the nearly 6,000-mile
journey in hopes of ruining Estrada’s undisputed goal.
“To fight in America against a fellow world champion in a
world title unification is a dream come true for me,”
Rupprecht said. “Seniesa is considered one of the sport’s
best fighters, and I look forward to seeing who is the true
number one in the division. This will be a Fight of the Year
candidate and another huge night for female boxing. I’m
going to be victorious and return to Germany with two world
title belts.”
The undercard, streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+, is
scheduled to include the following standouts:
Lightweight contender Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (16-0, 13
KOs), from Fontana, California, and trained by Robert
Garcia, makes his 2023 debut in a 10-rounder. Muratalla went
3-0 in 2022, including stoppage victories over veterans
Jeremy Hill and Miguel Contreras.
Rising lightweight Karlos Balderas (14-1, 12 KOs), a 2016
U.S. Olympian from Santa Maria, California, looks to author
his sixth consecutive victory in an eight-rounder. Balderas
is coming off a career-best showing over Esteban Sanchez, a
methodical beatdown that resulted in an eighth-round TKO.
Antonio “El Gigante” Mireles (6-0, 6 KOs), a 6-foot-9
heavyweight from Des Moines, Iowa, aims for knockout number
seven in a six-rounder. Mireles has three first-round
knockouts and three second-round stoppages on his ledger.
Lightweight prospect Charlie Sheehy (5-0, 4 KOs), the former
U.S. amateur star from Brisbane, California, makes his third
professional appearance in Fresno in a six-rounder.
Javier “Milwaukee Made” Martinez (8-0, 2 KOs), who trains
with Ramirez at Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, will fight an
opponent to be named in a six-round middleweight tilt.
Flyweight prospect Jessie James Guerrero (3-0-1, 3 KOs),
from Gilroy, California, will see action in a four-rounder
in his U.S. debut.
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