Jose Ramirez to face Tomas Mendez on July 9

May

Unbeaten junior welterweight Jose Ramirez will fight Tomas Mendez on July 9, Top Rank Promotions matchmaker Brad Goodman recently advised RingTV.

The 10-round bout will take place at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California. UniMas will broadcast the fight, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/ PT.

Ramirez (17-0, 12 knockouts) will be fighting near his hometown of Avenal, about a half-hour drive from Lemoore.

The 2012 US Olympian is a popular draw in the San Joaquin Valley, drawing sell-out crowds when he has fought in nearby Fresno. On a Dec. 5 card at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, an announced crowd of about 12,000 witnessed Ramirez survive a second round knockdown to defeat Johnny Garcia by decision over eight rounds.

In his last bout on April 9, Ramirez won a hard-fought, 10-round unanimous decision over Manuel Perez in Las Vegas. The fight supported the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley rubber match.

Ramirez, who is trained by Freddie Roach, has sparred some of the top-level fighters who train at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California.

Mendez (21-7, 14 KOs) last fought on April 8, losing an 11-round unanimous decision to fringe contender Evens Pierre. Mendez, who hails from the Dominican Republic, has lost two of his last three fights.

Mendez’s fight on July 9 will mark the first time he will fight in the United States.

Also fighting on the Top Rank card, in a non-televised bout, junior lightweight Andy Vences (15-0, 10 KOs) will face Moises Delgadillo (15-15-2, 8 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper, BoxingScene.com and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.