He is not saying it. Though I will. One day, Robeisy Ramirez will square off against Naoya Inoue
And he will defeat him.
Since he is intelligent enough. He’s deceptive enough. And darn it, his supporters will like him.
First things first, though.
The freshly crowned WBO featherweight champion will make an appearance on the undercard of Inoue’s 122-pound unification fight with Stephen Fulton in order to fuel the flames for the upcoming confrontation.
He will compete against local star Satoshi Shimizu, who is currently ranked No. 12 in the WBO and has won all but one of his professional fights by knockout.
Although the 37-year-old, who competed at the 2008 Olympics, won a bronze medal at the 2012 Games, and turned pro after failing to qualify in 2016, may provide some physical hurdles, none of those triumphs have come outside of Japan or against a well-known opponent.
Ramirez is a half-foot shorter and has a wingspan that is more akin to a featherweight at 68 inches than Shimizu, who measures 5-foot-11 and has a reach that is just past 71 inches.
While Ramirez has stopped more than half of his opponents, the Cuban appears to be much more dependent on ring IQ and cunning than his Japanese rival, who has a 91 percent knockout rate and has only lost once after eight rounds.
The world championship, according to Ramirez, “was a big step in my quest to be regarded as the world’s best featherweight and ultimately become a consensus pound-for-pound fighter.” A significant point on my voyage will be when I face the seasoned and fierce Shimizu.
Let’s just say that adventure has improved since a rough beginning.
Ramirez’s unexpected split loss to an unnamed journeyman in his professional debut in 2019 may have caused some people to lose faith in him, but the extensive subtlety and cunning he displayed while defeating real world-class fighter Isaac Dogboe in April more than made up for that.
He has avenged the loss. Now he is a champion. Even if the phrase has become completely meaningless in modern times, one of the sport’s many self-inflicted wounds, he is already just as deserving at featherweight as the other three contenders and is expected to rise.
Although his build and reach don’t match up well against belt-holders at 130 pounds, his skill set would make for an intriguing matchup with former 126-pound champion Emanuel Navarrete. Additionally, an obvious long-term carrot still dangles in the form of Ramirez’s Olympic gold medal-winning victory over Shakur Stevenson, an ex-amateur opponent.
Ramirez is well-positioned to welcome Inoue into his neighborhood, providing the “Monster” defeats Fulton and ultimately completes his other belt-securing work at 122, but if Stevenson is too far gone weight-wise and Ramirez is more eager to till featherweight ground for the time being.
