The Long-Awaited Jose Ramirez – Viktor Postol Bout Targeted For August
WBC/WBO World Junior Welterweight champion Jose Ramirez’s (25-0, 17 KOs) mandatory title defense against the WBC mandatory challenger Viktor Postol (32-2, 12 KOs) has been on and off again throughout 2020.
The fight has been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, head of Top Rank Promotions, Bob Arum, is saying the bout will take place this summer.
Arum is looking to stage the fight during the first or second week of August. That is, so long as Postol gets access to travel from his native country of Ukraine. ESPN also talked with Postol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, who is assisting in trying to facilitate the process of getting his fighter out of his homeland to the United States.
“We have a reserved ticket for him on Monday. We’ve just been a little bit delayed because of the protests (Kornilov is referring to the numerous protests that have sparked up throughout the United States following the killing of George Floyd).
We definitely have to wait for restrictions to be taken off as far as the quarantine of the gym and Freddie returning. But in my opinion, that should happen pretty soon.
Until then, the plan is for Viktor to just start training at a private gym we can find locally and get back into shape, and then wait for the restrictions to be taken off.”
VENUE PROSPECTS
With Ramirez – Postol looking like it will finally happen, the issue now is the location. If Team Ramirez has a say so, they want the fight in their home area of Central California.
Ramirez’s manager, Rick Mirigian, told ESPN he hopes the fight lands closer to the champ’s home turf.
“’I’m preparing options for Top Rank for California, a casino and an arena. I’m going to prepare those options for them to consider.
That is the goal — to have some sort of a California audience with the bare minimum. A small ‘studio’ show, which could be Ramirez’s family, some key sponsors, etc. Keep it small.”
Arum is the holder of the promotional rights for the fight. He has stated that when Top Rank resumes with boxing shows in June, they plan to do so in Las Vegas. The promoter has worked hard behind the scenes with the city of Vegas to make this happen. So despite Mirigian’s wishes and Ramirez being a big draw in that part of the country, Arum will have the final say-so.
Fans who are itching to watch live fights again are hoping Postol is allowed out of the country, the details are ironed out, and this bout finally happens. Please stay tuned into 3KingsBoxing for any further updates.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
