Mike "Yes Indeed" Reed Suffers His First Defeat To Rising Star Jose Ramirez!

Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Saturday night on ESPN in front of a crowd of 13,838 at the Save Mart Center on the campus of Fresno State undefeated Jose Ramirez (21-0, 16 KO's) of Avenal, CA defended his WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight title against Mike Reed (23-1, 12 KO's) of Waldorf, MD. 

Ramirez was the taller man when the two met in the center of the ring for the final instructions from referee Jack Reiss. At the start of round one Ramirez went straight at Reed with vicious body shots as Reed landed good counters and showed his speed. Reed landed a right hook, but Ramirez stunned Reed with a left hook then landed a combination of punches, sending Reed down to the canvas. Reed was able to beat the 10 count, but Ramirez  backed Reed up against the ropes with left hooks to the body and straight rights between the gloves. Referee Jack Reiss stopped the bout at 1:43 of the second round.

Video courtesy of TopRank

Ramirez:

"When I fight better fighters, it brings the best out. Most people underestimate my speed and defense, but they don't understand it until they're in front of me. I showed tonight what I mean by that."

"I landed a punch on the temple. I noticed his legs wobbled and I went, 'OK, he's had enough.' I knew my speed and power would be enough. Then I started landing those body shots. Maybe in some of my fights, I left doubt. From my last two fights, I've been dropping everyone. You can't forget about defense, but the motto is hit and don't be hit."

"I was just so focused on Mike Reed. I was more than ready for him. I feel so excited. Now I can think about the title fight, but first I'm going to spend time with my family and my little boy. I'm going to enjoy the holidays, and then I'll get back in the gym." 

Freddie Roach:

"We saw that Reed was bigger tonight and outweighed us, so I told Jose to go to the body. Imam is a step up from tonight's fight, but we're ready to take Imam on and go for the title."

This win for Ramirez puts him in place for a mandatory world title shot against the Don King-promoted Amir Imam (21-1, 18 KOs) of Albany, New York. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said the title fight would take place in the first quarter of 2018 (target date of Feb. 16) either at the Save Mart Center or in Reno, Nevada.