Rafael Espinoza says he is open to fighting WBO featherweight champion Emmanuel Navarrete following his sixth-round TKO victory over Robeisi Ramirez in their rematch last Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Navarrete could be too much of a puncher to handle if he were to move up to super featherweight to challenge him for the WBO title. The money would potentially be better for Espinoza than staying at 126, but it would be a risky fight.
Navarrete destroyed a completely outmatched Oscar Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) last night in the sixth round of the Maine tournament. He dropped Valdez three times in the fight and scored a knockout with a body kick in the sixth round. It was a 100% unnecessary rematchas Navarrete already easily defeated Valdez last year, winning by a one-sided 12-round decision on August 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. The fight was NOT competitive.
Robeisi’s Decline
WBO light heavyweight champion Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) forced two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisi (14-3, 9 KOs) to quit in the sixth round when he caught him with a sharp right hand straight down the barrel. Robeisi immediately turned around and quit. Espinoza showed his class by not belting him right now, as he was helpless, he would be at the mercy of the 6’1″ Mexican champion.
Ramirez, 30, claimed he had double vision in his right eye from the elbows Espinoza caught him with early in the fourth round. However, there was no swelling in that eye neither in that round nor in the fifth. It wasn’t until the sixth round that Robeisi’s right eye swelled up after Espinoza landed a right hand, forcing him to retire. Ramirez’s eye was clearly visible right after the fight and he didn’t look good.
Former WBO 126-pound champion Ramirez lost the title to Espinosa in their first fight on Dec. 9 of last year, losing in a 12-round majority decision in a competitive contest. Ramirez fell out of the fast pace that Espinoza put on him in the second half and was knocked out in the 12th round of that contest.
With the loss, Ramirez’s time as a top performer is short the fighter may be finished. Cuban Robeisi is an old looking 30, and not nearly the same fighter he was when he won two gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Those medals were won in flyweight and bantamweight for Robeisi. Ramirez doesn’t look like he’s suited for the featherweight weight class, but it’s unlikely he could compete at 118 or 112 at his age. Is it time for Robeisi to retire? It could be. In any case, Top Rank must consider whether to re-sign him when his contract expires.
Espinoza’s statement
“I think he was frustrated with the pressure. I know he connected and noticed that it doesn’t do me any harm. So mentally I was strong, and I think mentally I could do better than him. He was tired and he barely landed on me,” Rafael Espinoza said in the post-match press conference, referring to Robeisa Ramirez. “He lost in that mental game.
“I could have fought someone else, but I wanted this fight,” Espinoza said of his rematch with Cuban Ramirez. “He could be a champion.” That could happen.
“I want the best fights. I want to unite and move forward.”
