Whereas most boxers claim to already live a quarantined life to the point of not being bothered by the coronavirus pandemic, Abel Ramos has endured the opposite experience.
The inability to enjoy regular weekend gatherings with his loving, tight-knit family has been frustrating at times for the streaking welterweight contender, though it has come with its silver lining. Ramos’ first fight back since the ongoing global health crisis is not only a title opportunity, but one where he shares the evening’s spotlight with his 19-year old nephew.
On the same telecast which will house Ramos’ scheduled 12-round secondary title fight with Miami’s Yordenis Ugas (25-4, 12KOs), unbeaten junior welterweight prospect Jesus Ramos Jr. (12-0, 11KOs) will make his primetime debut in an eight-round clash with Brawley, California’s Esteban García (14-0, 6KOs). Both bouts air live on Fox this Sunday from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.
“It’s great that we get to do this,” Ramos told BoxingScene.com of the occasion, marking this sixth such time he and his nephew will appear on the same show, and the first where both fight on the same telecast. “When I was on the way up, I had to do a lot of this by myself.
“To now be able to have Jesús in training camp with us has been such a terrific experience for both of us. It will be great to watch him fight on Sunday right before my fight. I will really feed off of his energy.”
The two fought on the same show in five of the first six bouts in Jesús Ramos’s career, all of which came in his first year as a pro and in Mexico. Interestingly, it hasn’t happened at all since the younger Ramos turned 18 last March and was old enough to regularly appear on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) shows without age restrictions limiting where he could fight.
Neither was without the other in fighting spirit or familial support, as a fight night involving either Ramos was always cause for a large gathering.
“We are all very close,” notes the 29-year old Ramos (26-3-2, 20KOs), whose older brother Jesus Sr. trains both Abel and Jesus Jr. “That’s been the hardest part of this [pandemic] for me, just not being able to hang with the whole family as often as we always used to. We are a big family and used to get together every weekend.
“Now we have to stay at home and avoid big get togethers. Right before we opened training camp, we had a family birthday party, which was nice but it wasn’t quite the same because we wanted to still practice social distancing and all that.”
Some of the pressure was alleviated by traveling out of state for training camp. The fighting portion of the Ramos family set up shop in Omaha, Nebraska, by admission in part to beat the brutal Arizona summer heat. Also, though, to go somewhere that would allow them to only concentrate on what is the biggest opportunity of the elder Ramos’ career.
“Being that far away from family, it definitely took the pressure off not being able to see them all the time,” admits Ramos. “When I came (to Omaha) for training camp, it made things easier.”
Everyone will be reunited this weekend. The extended family back home will be watching live on Fox, while Abel and Jesus Jr. plan to provide cause for celebration.
The younger Ramos has rapidly emerged as one of the brighter prospects in the deep PBC stable. On paper, he takes on his toughest test to date, though nothing for which he hasn’t sufficiently prepared. The calculated step up in class is a luxury not quite afforded his uncle during the early years.
“I’m grateful to be in a position where I could learn from my early mistakes and make sure that Jesús is never put in that same situation,” notes Ramos, who has won eight straight including a literal last-second come-from-behind stoppage win over Bryant Perrella this past February in Nashville, Tennessee. “When I was in the same position, we knew there were some fights I’ve taken that I shouldn’t have at the time. But you learn and you move forward.
“So now, we are in a position where Jesús can shine and not make any of the same mistakes that I did. He’s remained focused and the sky’s the limit. It shouldn’t be too long before he’s right here on the title stage, though he’ll get here when he’s ready. He’s still young and we don’t need to rush it. For now, we just to want to put on a great show, especially for everyone back home.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox