Jose Pedraza knows the importance of his fight against Richard Commey on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The former two-division titleholder has lost his two biggest fights at junior welterweight, wide decisions against Jose Zepeda in 2019 and Jose Ramirez this past March. He can’t afford another disappointment if he hopes to realize his goal of winning a belt in a third division.
Commey is in a similar position going into his first fight as a full-fledged 140-pounder. He lost a decision to Vasiliy Lomachenko in December.
“Same as Richard, I’m coming off a loss,” Pedraza said at the final news conference before the fight. “I’m looking for a big win and to stay among the top names in the division.”
Pedraza (29-4, 14 KOs) was on a roll going into the fight with Ramirez.
The slick 33-year-old Puerto Rican rebounded from the loss to Zepeda by easily outpointing Mikkel LesPierre and Javier Molina, and stopping Julian Rodriguez in eight rounds. He seemed to be at his best.
He was competitive against Ramirez but he said he didn’t push himself hard enough in the fight, which the former 140-pound champ won by a score of 116-112 on all three cards. Lesson learned.
“I believe I need to be more active, to be more offensive in this fight,” he said.
Of course, aggression could also lead him into trouble. Commey (30-4, 27 KOs) is one of the biggest punchers in the business.
Pedraza said he’ll be ready for the Ghanaian’s power and anything else he brings to the ring.
“He has a strong right hand,” Pedraza said. “He’s a strong fighter that punches hard with both hands, and we have that in the game plan, so we’re going to be working on that. I’m expecting a tough fight against a strong fighter.”
“… A big win on Saturday against a great fighter like Richard Commey will put me a step closer to a world title opportunity,” he went on. “That’s what we’re looking for.”
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