Rafael Espinoza says he has improved since his last fight with former WBO featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez last year on December 9, and will be ready to defeat him for the second time this Saturday, December 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Credit: High quality)
Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) will be defending his WBO 126-lb title against two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy (14-2, 9 KOs). The event will air live on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT.
The fight was very competitive until the 12th when Espinoza rode a tired Robeisy to drop him to win a 12 round majority decision.
There are no excuses
“When I’m in a fight, I like to decide what I’m going to do and I’m used to that. I do things so that they don’t hurt me as much. I’m trying to punch and not get hit and leave everything in the ring,” said Rafael Espinoza on Sean Zittel’s channel, reacting to being told that Robeisy Ramirez said he wanted to sing during his songs on Saturday.
“Sometimes I like to push forward to get the results I want to push on the gas. I will try to do everything smartly in the ring,” continued Espinoza. “I don’t know what happened to him, but I expect the best form of Robeisy. I want the best version, and I don’t want excuses. I will try to give the best version of myself again. “
Espinoza will be hit hard in this fight, he still hopes that he can take Robeisy’s power because he was almost knocked out in the fifth round after being knocked out. It was fortunate for Espinoza that the punch put him down in the final seconds of the round.
“I have improved a lot since the first fight [with Ramirez] in all places, physically with my strength. I worked on the mistakes I made so that I can do things flawlessly. There are also no distractions, and my mind is high. “So in the first fight I didn’t give up, and in this second fight, that word doesn’t even cross my mind,” said Espinoza.
We don’t know if the 6’1″ Espinoza has gotten better since his win over Robeisy because he only fought once against Sergio Chirino Sanchez, who beat him in the fourth round on June 21. Unfortunately, we won’t know if Espinoza has improved until he faces -Robeisy this Saturday night.
Robeisy says that he was not in a good condition for the last fight with Espinoza because his father was in the hospital, and he was not prepared. This time, he believes he will be ready and will have the right game plan to defeat Espinoza.
“I don’t like to say whether I will be beaten because those words blow the air. So, what I’m going to do is fight my best so there’s no doubt what’s going on. I have been at this stage for a long time [featherweight]. I took good care of myself. It all depends on my body. I would like to combine. If I can stay at this stage, it won’t be a problem. I plan to stay for a long time at this stage, no problem,” said Espinoza.
If Espinoza stays at 126, he will eventually grow out of this weight class and start losing. It may be better for him to move up to 130 since he is still fighting at a high level because he can take advantage of the money that will be available against WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete. There is a fight to win with WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster.
Source link
