The slow clapping sound comes from indianCoach Norman Dale inspires his team to believe in bigger things, and that might be the mantra for junior bantamweight John “Scrappy” Ramirez, who is fighting for Get ready for the next game on December 14th at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
Ramirez draws strength from a rare sense of unity among his team at Brickhouse Boxing — a camaraderie often missing in the lonely world of professional boxing.
Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) will face the unbeaten junior in Alexis Rocha vs. Raul Curiel on DAZN Bantamweight star Ephraim Bui (10 wins, 0 losses, 8 KOs).
Ramirez often draws inspiration from his football career, and the camaraderie in the locker room has shaped him more than any touchdown.
“The best part is not the championship or the victory,” the 28-year-old Ramirez said. “That’s the locker room – those moments of hyping each other up and feeding off the energy. Boxing really doesn’t have that. It’s a lonely sport.
“I’ve been around the block. [at] A lot of different gyms, they don’t have that energy, like being one team, one goal, one mission, that unity. We still look out for each other. We still train as a team. We still work out together. That’s the best part about this situation. ”
Even after his first loss, a unanimous decision loss to David Jimenez in April, Ramirez never stopped hitting the gym and working hard to develop and perfect his game.
“I learned a lot in that fight,” he said. “Even on my worst nights, I’m competitive.”
Ramirez found himself in the clear: Even though he started boxing at age 20, he believed he belonged at the top of the junior bantamweight division.
Trainer Julian Chua has seen a new version of Ramirez emerge since his first professional defeat.
“Scrappy is sharper than I’ve ever seen him,” Tsai said. “Even if Bui performs at 70 percent of his training camp performance, he won’t be able to run the full distance.”
Chua attributes Ramirez’s improvement to lessons learned from defeat, specifically how he prepared.
“Sometimes you need to push the fighter, sometimes you need to slow down,” Cai said. “Bobby Benton actually taught me that. It’s not just about working hard, it’s about being smart and listening to your body. Scrappy embraced this camp and I guarantee he’ll come back strong.”
Buie, 25, of Sugar Land, Texas, was a tough opponent after winning a unanimous decision in September. Ramirez sees this challenge as a carefully planned step toward his ultimate goal.
“This chapter is called The Rise of a Champion,” Ramirez said. “I’m going to make the right fights, not the easy fights. Every move I make is with purpose. This fight will prepare me for a world title shot.”
Ramirez also does power training with Gilberto “Zuldo” Ramirez, the current lightweight title holder in both weight classes. Yes, he bounced back from his loss to Dmitry Bivol. Watching his teammates rebuild reminded Ramirez of the toughness needed to succeed.
“Failure doesn’t determine my future,” Ramirez said. “I’ve grown from it and I’m going to keep moving forward. This mentality got me here and will get me to the top.”
