Joey Spencer’s convincing victory over Mexican prospect Kevin Salgado in Spencer’s most recent fight helped convince him that he is ready for another step up in competition.
That’s why Spencer pursued an intriguing fight against another young, unbeaten junior middleweight, Jesus Ramos, which has been scheduled for next month. Spencer, 22, and Ramos, 21, will meet March 25 in Showtime Pay-Per-View’s 10-round co-feature before super middleweight rivals David Benavidez and Caleb Plant go at it in the 12-round main event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Spencer spoke about his decision to request an opportunity to knock off Ramos during a virtual press conference recently.
“I actually asked for this fight particularly,” Spencer said. “And I wanna say the same thing to Jesus about just the fact that people don’t – you don’t see these fights in boxing often for a reason. There’s a specific reason for that. And a lotta times people hide behind promoters and say, ‘You know what? It’s not what my promoter wants,’ and this and that. But, you know, this fight is proof that if two guys wanna get in, at any stage in their career, even if it doesn’t necessarily follow the specific script that boxing usually follows, you can make a fight that’s outside of the box, that people don’t usually see.”
Ramos (19-0, 15 KOs), of Casa Grande, Arizona, is a hard-hitting southpaw who has faced a higher level of opposition than Spencer. The WBC has ranked Ramos seventh among its 154-pound contenders, whereas the WBO has placed him 10th in its ratings.
Spencer isn’t ranked in the top 15 by the IBF, WBA, WBC or WBO. After a 10-round, unanimous-decision defeat of the previously undefeated Salgado (15-1-1, 10 KOs) on September 4 in Los Angeles, Spencer sees Ramos as just the type of opponent that the Linden, Michigan native needs to beat to establish himself as a credible contender in the junior middleweight division.
“I love this fight,” Spencer said. “This is the fight that I wanted because he’s high in the rankings and he’s had great performances. And people really admire his boxing and what he’s done so far. We’re both young and I think it’s a hot fight for the division. … It’s a perfect fight to see who’s ready to go to the next level.
“And that’s the type of fight that I want, so yeah, props to Jesus and we’re gonna make a great fight. I think we’re gonna steal the show. I mean, Caleb and Benavidez is gonna be a great fight, but I think that this fight is gonna be right up there, you know, as one of the showstoppers on March 25th.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.