Jose Ramirez to return September 14

According to ESPN, Jose Ramirez is set to make his return to action on September 14 in Fresno, in a Top Rank on ESPN main event where he’ll defend his WBC 140-pound title for the first time.

Ramirez (22-0, 16 KO) was supposed to defend this past Saturday against Danny O’Connor, but O’Connor had to be rushed to the hospital on Friday, suffering badly from the effects of trying to make weight.

Promoter Bob Arum says that there’s no opponent yet, but his team are “working on a couple of possibilities” for the 25-year-old titleholder.

Ramirez, a former U.S. Olympian, won the then-vacant WBC title on March 17 in New York, defeating Amir Imam by decision. He’s become a very reliable draw in Fresno, last fighting there in November 2017, when he knocked out Mike Reed in two rounds.

For what it’s worth, the current top 10 contenders as ranked by the WBC are Josh Taylor, Adrien Broner, Antonio Orozco, Viktor Postol, Mohamed Mimoune, Ryan Martin, Sergey Lipinets, Yves Ulysse Jr, Hiroki Okada, and Antonio DeMarco.