Barrios to defend WBC welterweight title on Tyson-Paul undercard
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Mario Barrios will make his first WBC welterweight title defense against Abel Ramos on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul undercard, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced on Monday.
The event, which will stream live on Netflix, will take place on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The fight came about due to a deal MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian made with Premier Boxing Champions and TGB Promotions, which works with Barrios and Ramos.
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“I’m thrilled to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Barrios said. “The fight on the Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson card is huge, with millions watching live on Netflix. Abel Ramos is a tough Mexican fighter, just like me, so I know it’ll be a hell of a fight in front of my Texas people at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium.”
Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs), 29, of San Antonio, who is a former WBA “regular” junior welterweight titleholder, outpointed Yordenis Ugas to win the vacant WBC interim welterweight belt last September. He defended it by unanimous decision against Fabian Maidana on May 4 and in June he was elevated to full titleholder after Terence Crawford vacated to move up to junior middleweight.
Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs), 33, of Casa Grande, Arizona, will get his second shot at a world title. In September 2020, Ramos lost a split decision to Ugas in a fight for the vacant WBA “regular” welterweight belt.
“I’m very excited to be fighting for the WBC title and I’m looking forward to a great fight against Mario Barrios,” Ramos said. “He’s a warrior just like me and I’m going to give the fans at Cowboys Stadium and those watching around the world on Netflix an exciting fight.”
Ramos ended a 13-month layoff in April by scoring a fifth-round knockout of Juan Ramon Guzman. But Ramos lost his two fights prior to that, an upset 10-round decision loss to Luke Santamaria in February 2022 followed by a 12-round majority decision to Cody Crowley in a WBC title elimination bout in March 2023.
Bidarian and Paul made the announcement on Monday to coincide with Mexican Independence Day.
“Mario Barrios versus Abel Ramos for the WBC welterweight championship will be an action packed fight that will fully embody the Mexican style of boxing and bring fans to their feet,” Bidarian and Paul said in a joint statement.
The card will also include the previously announced and long-awaited rematch between undisputed women’s junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor and unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, who has won world titles in a women’s record seven divisions.
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Barrios photo: Esther Lin/PBC
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garbage fight. Ramos must have dirt on Mauricio, as the WBC put him in an eliminator after losing to a journeyman, and now a title fight when Barrios' mandatory is due. More crapola from PBC and the WBC.
Will Stanious ever fight again?