Jose Ramirez vs. Josh Taylor bill features exciting Top Rank prospects

Could twelfth, 2021

Earlier than Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor conflict for the undisputed junior welterweight world title Saturday, Could 22 at The Theater at Virgin Inns Las Vegas, two featherweight firefights will get the motion going.

Mexican contender Jose Enrique Vivas will battle the Robert Garcia-trained Louie Coria in a scheduled eight-rounder.

And, in an eight-rounder with a contact of gold, two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez will face Juan Tapia, the preventing satisfaction of Brownsville, Texas.

Vivas-Coria and Ramirez-Tapia are among the many undercard fights scheduled to stream stay and solely on ESPN+ at 5:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. PT.

Ramirez-Taylor headlines a junior welterweight tripleheader beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+. The principle card may also showcase Jose “Chon” Zepeda in a 10-rounder versus “Hammerin” Hank Lundy and unbeaten sensation Elvis “The Dominican Child” Rodriguez in opposition to former U.S. novice star Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. in an eight-rounder.

Vivas (20-1, 11 KOs) went 2-0 final yr contained in the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, outlasting Carlos Jackson in a Battle of the 12 months contender and knocking out John Vincent Moralde within the opening spherical. A former Mexican novice standout, Vivas has received three straight bouts since a factors loss to Ruben Villa.

Coria (12-4, 7 KOs), from Moreno Valley, California, hopes to interrupt a two-bout dropping skid, though each defeats got here in brawls that might’ve simply gone his method. Final June, he dropped a majority determination to Adam Lopez, and 4 months later, he knocked down 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao en path to a disputed unanimous determination verdict.

Ramirez (6-1, 4 KOs) turned his profession round following a stunning determination defeat to Adan Gonzales in his skilled debut. He avenged that loss final July through shutout determination and most lately knocked out Brandon Valdes (13-1 on the time) within the sixth spherical. Ramirez makes his 2021 debut in opposition to Tapia (10-3, 3 KOs), a seven-year professional who has gone the gap in opposition to 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Vladimir Nikitin and pound-for-pound standout Shakur Stevenson.

In different undercard motion:

Las Vegas native Andres Cortes (13-0, 7 KOs) will make his eleventh consecutive hometown look, this time in opposition to Eduardo “Thunder” Garza (15-3-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-round junior light-weight tilt. Cortes made a memorable impression contained in the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble final July, recovering from a fourth-round knockdown to outpoint Alejandro Salinas.

Raymond “Hazard” Muratalla (11-0, 9 KOs), the Robert Garcia-trained light-weight prospect from Fontana, California, will battle Jose Luis Gallegos (20-10, 15 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Muratalla is coming off a third-round stoppage win over Luis Porozo final November on the Terence Crawford-Kell Brook card, his sixth consecutive knockout win.

Middleweight prospect Javier “Milwaukee Made” Martinez (3-0, 1 KO), who was as soon as the top-ranked American novice at 165 kilos, will battle veteran Calvin Metcalf (10-5-1, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. Martinez final fought Feb. 20 and knocked out Billy Wagner within the first spherical.