Well, as Mario Barrios fights go, this one is a pretty decent one.
Per Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, the defending WBC welterweight champion, Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs), will be taking on veteran gatekeeper Abel Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs) November 15, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, underneath the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson main event on Netflix.
“I’m thrilled to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Barrios said via statement issued to media. “The fight on the Jake Paul vs. 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. I’m also excited to showcase my Indigenous roots on this global platform. Don’t miss this fight—it’s going to be war, Puro San Antonio!”
“I’m very excited to be fighting for the WBC title and I’m looking forward to a great fight against Mario Barrios,” said Ramos, also via media release. “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 on Friday, November 15th.”
Barrios-Ramos joins Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano on the undercard to an event which may turn out to be the most viewed combat sports event of all-time.
Although Ramos is 2-3 in his last five fights and has been off-and-on versus higher-level opposition, he’s a historically game opponent who fights with tenacity and old school grit. The 33-year-old’s career high-water mark wins have come against Omar Figueroa Jr. and Bryant Perrella.
Barrios, meanwhile, is now a two-division world champ, who is squarely in the high second-tier, low top-tier category, dropping his two biggest fights versus Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman, but decisioning Yordenis Ugas to take the interim WBC welterweight title.
Elevated to full champ status after Terence Crawford vacated his WBC title, the 29-year-old is looking to elevate his brand, as well as his standing as a reigning world titlist. Beating Ramos won’t do that on its own, but beating Ramos on that gigantic Paul-Tyson Netflix card will definitely help his standing and, ultimately, his bankability.
The Barrios-Ramos announcement nullifies rumors that a Barrios-Manny Pacquiao fight was in the making for later this year.
All in all, Barrios vs. Ramos should be an entertaining clash of somewhat contrasting styles and ring philosophies, made a little bit eye-rolling silly by its “world” title match designation.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com