Puerto Rican boxer Jose “Sniper” Pedraza walked away from his 140th free starting opportunity early Saturday morning when he lost by unanimous decision to Mexican-American Jose Ramirez in the top-tier card main event in Friso, California.
All three judges saw the fight 116-112 in favor of Ramirez, who is now looking forward to a rematch with undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor. The unbeaten Scotsman Ramirez, as well as the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) belts, grabbed last May. Taylor is also a champion of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Association (WBA).
“Jose Pedraza has a lot of experience, he had a great fight, he pushed a lot and I took my hat off to him. I have to see I have to improve. It was very tense to come back after what happened in my last fight. I think I won at least 8 rounds,” Ramirez said after winning. “.
Pedraza (29-4, 14 KOs), 32, suffered the fourth setback of his career. The former 130-pound, 135-pound world champ is now 3-2 since moving to 140 pounds.
A win over Ramirez (27-1, 17 knockout) would have put him in a title fight with a chance to win a third division title.