Daily Times

FRESNO: Jose Ramirez is rolling again. The former unified 140-pound titleholder dropped Richard Commey twice in the 11th round and stopped him in the same stanza on Saturday in Fresno, California, his second consecutive victory since losing his belts to Josh Taylor in 2021. Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) defeated Jose Pedraza by a wide decision in March of last year. The victory brings him closer to a shot at a world title, possibly against WBC beltholder Regis Prograis. Ramirez entered the fight ranked No. 5. “I want any world champion,” Ramirez said. “If Regis Prograis is serious about fighting, we can sit down and negotiate. Let’s sit down and make the fight.” Ramirez attacked Commey (30-5-1, 27 KOs) aggressively from the opening bell, landing a variety of punches to the head and body round after round. That set up a brutal ending. In the 11th, Ramirez put Commey down with a right hand but didn’t seem to hurt him badly. Then, after the Ghanaian got to his feet, he took a vicious left hook to the body that forced him to take a knee. And that’s where he stayed when referee Jack Reiss reached the count of 10. He wanted no more of Ramirez. The official time of the stoppage was 2:31.

Ramirez said felt some rust after a one-year layoff but was pleased with his performance. “It’s always hard after a layoff, but mentally I had to go back to being my old self and start strong,” he said. “There came a point in my career where I got too comfortable. But this time, I started with that rhythm of being active with my punches throughout the round. “And I went back to my old self. I hurt him in the first round. But he’s a tough guy. Big shoutout to Commey and his team. He’s a good warrior. He took some good shots. And he picked it up in the middle of the fight, too. “I heard his team motivating him, but I wanted to make a statement and show that I’m the stronger guy in there.” That he was.