He owns a 102 -9 record with 82 KOs. I saw him fight a few times and always thought he was a great fighter. However, it appears that losses to Arguello, Mancini and Camacho sent him to the second tier of greats.
He was a bridesmaid to some great fighters (Chavez and Whitaker fight one as well as two ) and some excellent fighters (Camacho and Mancini). On top of this he made his name giving Arguello hell and can rightly be proud of his upset/revenge victory of El Chapo. He beat some solid contenders too (Alli and an aged Boza Edwards come to mind). All adding up to a very good career, were he competed with everyone but the very best of good Lightweight era. Ramirez was a very solid fighter; overall in the 'very good' bracket, but clearly not a great.
This. He always seemed by the magazines back then to be put in the pure brawler's category, but he was too well-schooled for that. Seeing him against Arguello is proof that he had real world-class skills, at least when he was younger. He needed room to punch though, and Mancini didn't give it to him. Real nice win for Ray there. Went to live and work in France late in his career with a new trainer, and it seemed to breathe new life into him, when he beat Terrence Alli and then Boza. In fairness though, Boza was completely cooked by that time.
Very underrated fighter but he's not even a second-tier great, to be honest. Struggled with movement and pressure alike but his relentless pressure could expose flaws and weaknesses. Sidenote: Camacho's blowout (shutout?) win over him is one of my all-time favorite performances.
Excellent ****ysis. First time I ever saw him was against Chavez in 1988 or 89. Gave a good account of himself. Seen clips of him in other fights since. Definitely a throw back to a different era when career records reaching the century mark was a lot more common.
Most of the fights came when he was a kid (think he turned pro at 14?) fighting nobodies in Mexico, but yeah. Tough, tough man. Gave El Chapo all he could handle both fights and won some rounds against Sweet Pea.
Very solid fighter during the late 70s and first half of the 80s, but rather ordinary after that yet had the connections to still secure big fights.
