Jesus Ramos Jr. didn’t get his customary knockout in his most recent fight, a 10-round unanimous decision over Javier Molina in May. He walked away with something more valuable, though: experience.
The 20-year-old Arizonan hadn’t been past six rounds in any previous fight in good part because of his punching power, which has ended 10 of his 16 fights inside two rounds. He’s scheduled to go 10 against Brian Mendoza on Sunday (Fox).
“I learned a lot,” Ramos said on the The PBC Podcast. “Just knowing I can execute a game plan for 10 rounds, to know I can do that and stay focused for 10 rounds was huge for me. Being able to break him down round after round was a learning process.
“… I did feel I got overly anxious, I felt I was looking for the knockout too much. I learned from that, I learned a lot. I think it’ll be a different fight on Sept. 5.
That might be an understatement.
Molina, a crafty veteran, made it difficult for Ramos to land his big bombs because of his ability, movement and experience. Mendoza is also a good boxer but is aggressive by nature, which is ideal for a hard puncher like Ramos.
Ramos (16-0, 14 KOs) doesn’t believe he’ll be chasing Mendoza (19-1, 13 KOs) at The Armory in Minneapolis.
“He likes to come forward, applying smart pressure,” Ramos said. “I think while he throws his punches he kind of leaves himself open. I think he throws his punches wide. I’m planning to capitalize on that.
“… Molina had great movement. It was hard to hit him. Brian Mendoza is a whole different opponent, a lot easier to touch him. He’s going to be there.”
So is Ramos, who doesn’t mess around in the ring. The same goes for his career.
He’s still not old enough to enter a Las Vegas casino or drink legally but he’s rapidly approaching elite status, in part because he isn’t afraid to face the likes of Molina and Mendoza at such a tender age.
He believes he isn’t far from his first title shot.
“Hopefully not too far,” said Ramos, who’s ranked No. 11 by the WBA. “I keep taking these tougher fights for [that] reason. I want to be ready if the opportunity presents itself. I want to be ready to fight the best in the division, the best out there.”
They know he’s coming.