José Ramírez returns to Save Mart Center in March against Ghanaian opponent

José Ramírez figures to have his hands full when he faces former lightweight world champion Richard ‘RC’ Commey in a 12-round junior welterweight main event March 25 at the Save Mart Center.

Tickets for the special Fight Night – which includes a women’s showdown in the co-feature – are on sale starting at $29 at Ticketmaster.com or the box office.

Ramírez (27-1, 17 KOs) returns for the seventh time to the Save Mart Center as he battles back for a return to a championship fight.

The Avenal native lost a 2021 decision to Josh Taylor in 2021 for the undisputed junior welterweight title. Last March, Ramírez rebounded with a unanimous decision win over former two-weight world champion José Pedraza.

“Fresno and the Save Mart Center hold a special place in my heart, and I am blessed to be able to fight in front of my Central Valley fans once again,” said Ramírez. “Richard Commey is a championship fighter with everything to gain.”

The Ghanaian boxer is 30-4-1 (27 KOs). He held the IBF world lightweight title for 10 months until he was beaten in a second-round fight in 2020 to Teofimo López.

Commey fought to a 10-round draw against Pedraza in his junior welterweight debut last August.

“I expect the best version of Commey on March 25,” said Ramírez. “My goal is to become champion again, and I am more motivated than ever to prove that I am the best junior welterweight in the world.”

Commey wants to be a two-weight champion and said he faces “a formidable opponent in José Ramírez.

“I’m up for the challenge, and I intend to make Ghana and all my fans around the world proud,” said Commey.

East LA’s ‘Super Bad’ in co-feature

Seniesa ‘Super Bad’ Estrada will try to unify world titles for the first time in her career.

The 30-year-old boxer from East Los Ángeles claimed the WBA minimum weight and WBO light flyweight titles in consecutive fights. She discarded the light flyweight title for a chance to unify the minimumweight belt.

Estrada faces WBC world champion Tina Rupprecht.

“I want to give Tina credit for being a world champion who isn’t afraid of a unification fight, unlike Yokasta Valle,” said Estrada. “Since we couldn’t get Yokasta into the ring, we decided to do one better and fight the woman who beat her.

“The Fresno fans are passionate, and they are in for a great show.”

Rupprecht (12-0-1, 3 KOs), from Augsburg, Germany, has made five defenses of her world title after being elevated from interim champion in 2018.

“To fight in America against a fellow world champion in a world title unification is a dream come true for me,” said Rupprecht, who has fought outside of Germany just once.

“Seniesa is considered one of the sport’s best fighters, and I look forward to seeing who is the true number one in the division. This will be a Fight of the Year candidate and another huge night for female boxing. I’m going to be victorious and return to Germany with two world title belts.”

Other scheduled bouts

The undercard will include:

▪ Lightweight contender Raymond ‘Danger’ Muratalla (16-0, 13 KOs), from Fontana, will make his 2023 debut in a 10-rounder. Muratalla went 3-0 in 2022, including stoppage victories over veterans Jeremy Hill and Miguel Contreras.

▪ Rising lightweight Karlos Balderas (14-1, 12 KOs), a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Santa Maria, looks for his sixth consecutive victory in an eight-rounder. Balderas is coming off a career-best showing over Esteban Sánchez, a methodical beatdown that resulted in an eighth-round TKO.

▪ Antonio ‘El Gigante’ Mireles (6-0, 6 KOs), a 6-foot-9 heavyweight from Iowa, aims for knockout number seven in a six-rounder. Mireles has three first-round knockouts and three second-round stoppages on his ledger.

▪ Lightweight prospect Charlie Sheehy (5-0, 4 KOs), the former U.S. amateur star from Brisbane, makes his third professional appearance in Fresno in a six-rounder.

▪ Javier ‘Milwaukee Made’ Martínez (8-0, 2 KOs), who trains with Ramírez at Robert García Boxing Academy, will fight an opponent to be named in a six-round middleweight tilt.

▪ Flyweight prospect Jessie James Guerrero (3-0-1, 3 KOs), from Gilroy, will see action in a four-rounder in his U.S. debut.