Right Then, Let's Deal With What Is Actually Happening On Saturday
Right then. Jesus Ramos Jr boxes Meiirim Nursultanov on Saturday night at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, in the co-feature underneath Isaac Cruz, with an interim WBC middleweight title on the line and DAZN carrying it.
And what is Ramos talking about? Carlos Adames. And Yoenli Hernandez after that.
“I just got to get him out of the way, get Meiirim out of the way, and focus on [Adames],” Ramos said. “In a perfect world, I fight Adames, Yoenli fights for the WBA, and we fight. Both on the line, WBC, WBA, unify.”
In a perfect world. Let's not beat around the bush — boxing has never once been a perfect world, and the phrase “get him out of the way” has ended more careers than any single punch ever has.
Nursultanov Is Not A Name, He Is A Problem
Twenty fights, twenty wins, eleven knockouts, and a serious amateur education behind him. That is not a gimme opponent, that is a live one.
What makes him awkward for Ramos specifically is the shape of him. Upright, European, jab constantly working, tight shell defence, everything compact. He does not come to you and he does not panic when you come to him.
And We Have Seen Ramos Struggle With Exactly That
Erickson Lubin beat him doing precisely this. Refused to trade in the pocket, stayed disciplined, picked him off as he walked in. Ramos marched forward all night without establishing his range and paid for it on the cards.
Nursultanov has the tools to run that same exam paper. If you know, you know.
Three Years Out Is A Two-Way Street
Here is the bit the Ramos camp seem to have filed under “good news”. Nursultanov has been on the shelf for three years. Ramos has admitted his corner has watched very little film because there is very little film to watch.
Think about what that actually means. You are not preparing for a man you have studied. You are preparing for a memory. Three years is long enough to rebuild a jab, change a trainer, and lose a step — and you do not know which of those has happened until the first bell.
Ramos also comes back from hand trouble that kept him out after his last outing. No surgery, no breaks, just swelling that would not settle. Firing at a man who fights behind his elbows and his gloves is the single worst way to find out whether that is fixed.
Luke’s Verdict
Make no mistake, Ramos is the better fighter. He is bigger, he is a southpaw, he punches properly to the body, and on talent alone he should be a class above.
But talent is not the thing being tested on Saturday. Attention is. And a man who has already drawn up the next two fights on a napkin is not giving this one his full attention.
My prediction: Ramos by unanimous decision, and it is a lot harder than the odds suggest — expect at least one round where he is properly hurt and holding on.
The winner gets Adames. That is the actual prize, and it is worth being present for. More middleweight coverage on our news page, and the full card list is on the fight schedule.