November 23, 2024

VALDEZ-SERVANIA, RAMIREZ-HART SET FOR SEPT. 22 ON ESPN

ringtv.com

Top Rank’s fourth ESPN offering is set.

Oscar Valdez will defend his WBO featherweight title against Genesis Servania on September 22 in Tucson, Arizona, a source told RingTV.com.

Gilberto Ramirez will put his WBO super middleweight belt on the line against Jesse Hart in an intriguing TV co-feature.

Valdez (22-0, 19 knockouts) defended his title for the second time in April with a decision victory over Miguel Marriaga. Now, the two-time Mexican Olympian (rated No. 6 by THE RING) takes on Servania, a fighter who is largely unknown in the United States, but one who’s regarded as a prospect in the Philippines.

Servania, 25, already has 29 fights under his belt (29-0, 12 KOs), but he’s yet to face a fighter of note.

Ramirez, THE RING’s No. 2-rated super middleweight, has made two defenses of the title he won from Arthur Abraham last year. Ramirez (35-0, 24 KOs) will face a fellow undefeated fighter in Jesse Hart, the son of 1970s middleweight puncher Eugene “Cyclone” Hart (ranked  THE RING’s top 100 punchers of all time).

Top Rank actually attempted to pair Ramirez and Hart with a Valdez fight in April, but when HBO refused to buy the card, Max Bursak instead fought the Mexican on a Top Rank-distributed pay-per-view with Valdez in the main event. Hart (22-0, 18 KOs) is rated No. 10 by THE RING.

Valdez and Ramirez (both 26) will share a card for a second consecutive occasion, but now they stand to share the spotlight before a far larger audience.

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