WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza is talking about possibly moving up to 130 ahead of his rematch against former champion Robeisy Ramirez next month on December 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
The lanky 6’1″ Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) has looked huge between fights, and it obviously takes a lot for him to lose weight to get down to the 126-pound frame to defend his WBO belt.
Regardless of the outcome of his rematch with Robeisy (14-2, 9 KOs), it makes sense for the 30-year-old Espinoza to move up to super featherweight as he could get a nice payday against the winner of the rematch between WBO to fight 130-lb champion Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez.
These two fight in the main event on the December 7th card at the Footprint Center. So, that makes it an easy fight to make for Top Rank to match Espinoza against the winner.
Newly crowned WBC super featherweight champion O’Shaquie Foster has said he wants to fight the winner of Navarrete-Valdez II, but his 12-round split decision win over Robson Conceicao in their rematch on November 2 was so boring to watch that it would be a bad idea for Top Rank to let him be next. It would be more interesting for fans to have Espinoza fight the winner.
Top ranking should have Foster fighting #2 WBC Eduardo Hernandez because their clash on October 28 last year was full of drama, with O’Shaquie having to come from behind to score a 12th round knockout.
“He is being hit flush. He doesn’t have a good defense, and that’s going to be a problem for him when he gets into Robeisy. He knows he can hurt him. He’s put him on the canvas before (last year on December 9, 2023), and I think he’s going to put him on the canvas again,” said Tim Bradley. Probox TV on defense-vulnerable WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza heading into his December 7 rematch with two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez.
“He is hit on the chin by Robeisy Ramirez. If he struggles to make weight at 126 lbs, he will be hurt. Trust me, Robeisy Ramirez wants his belt back. I think it’s a pick-em fight, it’s whoever lands first, but I’ll bet Robeisy will land that kill shot, and he’ll finish Espinoza,” Bradley said.
Espinoza looked good in his last fight against Sergio Chirino Sanchez, but he wasn’t fighting a talent like Robeisy. Things could be very different for him when he faces Cuba’s Robeisy on December 7, and that may be the end of his short title reign.
“It’s not an easy fight against Robeisy Ramirez. He is very talented. Their first fight was an absolute war,” said Chris Algieri. “Espinoza had to take that one out of the fire. He was dropped early (in round five) and had to score a takedown at the end (in round twelve) to win the fight. “
It looked like Espinoza was done when he was knocked down by Robeisy in the fifth round, but he was lucky it happened in the closing seconds of that round. Had the takedown occurred earlier in the round, Espinoza would have been knocked out for being out on his feet after getting back up. All it would have taken is another big left hand from Robeisy to finish him off.
“Going into the rematch and letting everyone know that win, lose or draw, ‘I’m moving up, means I have to move up.’ I’m surprised he could stay at this weight for so long.”
Espinoza looked like a starved skeleton in his fight against Robeisy last year and had a similar look in his recent defense against Sergio Chirino Sanchez on June 21st. It must be hard for Espiniza not to be able to enjoy the money he makes from eating well between fights, and he’s not getting any younger.
At 30, he cannot continue to taper to 126 without it catching up, possibly in his rematch against Robeisy on December 7.
“I don’t think he has any choice. I don’t know what took him so long. This guy is big at featherweight,” Paulie Malignaggi said of the 6’1″ Espinoza.
Espinoza could probably stay at featherweight a little longer if there was a money fight for him, but there isn’t. There’s nobody out there famous enough for Espinoza to get the kind of dough he would get by moving up to 130 to face the Navarrete-Valdez 2 winner or to take the WBC belt from light-punching Foster jerk and then fight against a too. unification match against Oscar or Emanuel.
