Ramirez vs Richards — Fight Day Has Finally Arrived
Right then — after February's heartbreak, Ramirez vs Richards is on for real. Albert Ramirez and Lerrone Richards weighed in on Wednesday at the Casino de Montreal, both men nailed their marks, and tonight they settle it over twelve rounds for the WBA interim light heavyweight title, live on DAZN. Let's not beat around the bush: this one has been a long time coming, and I'm buzzing it's finally landed.
The original date back in February fell through when Ramirez had a medical scare, and you could forgive Richards for wondering if it would ever happen. Well, it's happening. Ramirez vs Richards is the kind of crossroads fight that tells you everything about where two careers are heading at 175lbs.
Why Ramirez Should Win
Make no mistake, Albert Ramirez is a proper operator. The Venezuelan is 22-0 with 19 knockouts, and that ratio is not an accident — he won this interim strap with a seventh-round stoppage of Jerome Pampellone last August and he carries genuine spite in both hands. He's the bigger puncher, he's unbeaten, and he'll see Richards' modest knockout numbers as an invitation to walk him down.
When Ramirez plants his feet he hurts people, and over twelve rounds that power tends to tell. If he can cut the ring off and drag Richards into a tear-up, this is his fight to lose.
Why Richards Can Spring The Upset
Here's the thing though — Lerrone Richards can really box. The Londoner is 19-1 with only 4 knockouts, and the low stoppage count tells you exactly what kind of fighter he is: a slick, range-managing technician who wins rounds with his jab and his feet rather than his fists. He's levels above most domestic operators when it comes to ring craft.
Richards' single loss came in a close one, and he's the type who can make a heavy-handed puncher look ordinary by simply refusing to be there to be hit. If he boxes on the back foot, controls the tempo and banks rounds, he can absolutely nick this on the cards in Montreal.
The X-Factor
It comes down to one question: can Richards keep his discipline for the full thirty-six minutes? The away corner in a partisan Montreal crowd is no joke, and if he gets dragged into trading with Ramirez even for a couple of exchanges, the power gap could end his night in a hurry. Brave is one thing; sensible against a 19-KO man is another.
My Prediction
I'm not sitting on the fence. I make Ramirez the favourite and I think his power eventually decides it. My honest read on Ramirez vs Richards is that Richards boxes beautifully for the first half and has the Venezuelan frustrated — and then Ramirez lands something heavy in the middle rounds and the complexion changes. Ramirez by late stoppage or a clear decision. If Richards survives the storm and boxes his ears off, don't be shocked by an upset — but I'm backing the champion. Whoever wins announces himself as a player behind Bivol and Benavidez at the top of the division.