Jose Ramirez, Viktor Postol reach deal for February title defense

Though they had to delay a purse bid a couple of times to do so, WBC/WBO super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez and mandatory challenger Viktor Postol have reached a deal for their planned February 1st battle on ESPN. Neither the date nor the presently unknown location are official, but the 1st seems like a safe bet.

“Open communication between all parties, especially [WBC president] Mauricio [Sulaiman] and the WBC, was the key to making the deal,” [Carl] Moretti told ESPN. “Dealing with Tom was easy. We understood each other’s needs. Hopefully, it will lead to making more fights down the road. We both know a thing or two about a thing or two.”

“Postol will not be an easy mandatory for Jose, especially being trained by Freddie [Roach] and his team,” Moretti said. “But we believe Jose is getting better, bigger and stronger with each outing, and is the best in the 140-pound division.”

It’s an interesting matchup, as we’ve mentioned, but the biggest intrigue lies in what comes after. After Josh Taylor’s WBA/IBF-unifying decision over Regis Prograis this past Saturday, whoever wins between Ramirez (25-0, 17 KO) and Postol (31-2, 12 KO) will be in position to set up an undisputed title clash. The complicating factor at the moment is WBO mandatory Jack Catterall, who has a stay-busy fight booked for this month but currently has dibs on Ramirez or Postol.

Either way, we’re in for some great super lightweight fights next year.