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HENRY RAMIREZ TALKS BERTO VS. LOPEZ, CHRIS ARREOLA'S RETURN, AND MORE: "THIS IS BY NO MEANS AN EASY FIGHT FOR EITHER GUY"

By Percy Crawford | March 05, 2015
HENRY RAMIREZ TALKS BERTO VS. LOPEZ, CHRIS ARREOLA'S RETURN, AND MORE:

"Berto is a good fighter; former world champion. I'm sure he's coming prepared, just as we're coming prepared. Berto is still a fast guy; guy has a great right uppercut and pretty good jab. This is by no means an easy fight for either guy. We're preparing for the best Andre Berto, whatever that is. Whether it's the guy from a few years ago or the Berto of now, we're preparing for the best there is...I just feel it's going to be a great fight. I'm sure Virgil is going to have him prepared. Josesito is going to be prepared and I think it's going to make for a real thrilling fight, whether you're in attendance or watching it on Spike TV," stated Henry Ramirez, world-class trainer of Josesito Lopez and Chris Arreola, who talked about their upcoming March 13 return to the ring. Check it out!

PC: You are out there in Big Bear with Josesito Lopez, getting a lot of snow right now. Are you still able to get done what needs to be done?

HR: Oh yeah, absolutely. We are a half a mile from the Summit Gym, which is Abel Sanchez's gym where Triple G trains. I purposely got a house a half mile away in case there was some crazy snow storm, we could still go to the gym. But it really barely snowed this weekend. It's barely been snowing, but it's really coming down here lately.

PC: It's gotta be exciting for you as a trainer to have a fighter debut not only himself on Spike TV, but the sport of boxing on the network.

HR: It is exciting. I think it's going to be exciting and it's an exciting new platform as far as being on Spike TV. Al is putting some good high-level fights on there. You got Josesito and Berto and Porter and Garcia; two exciting fights. They are in Ontario, which is here in Southern California, which is about 12 miles from Riverside, so we're pretty excited.

PC: What do you think of Berto at this stage? You've always praised his efforts. What are your thoughts on him as an opponent?

HR: Berto is a good fighter; former world champion. I'm sure he's coming prepared, just as we're coming prepared. Berto is still a fast guy; guy has a great right uppercut and pretty good jab. This is by no means an easy fight for either guy. We're preparing for the best Andre Berto, whatever that is. Whether it's the guy from a few years ago or the Berto of now, we're preparing for the best there is.

PC: You just touched on his uppercut, which he lands frequently on guys who labor on the inside. Not giving away too much, what are some of the things you feel Josesito absolutely has to stay away from to have success in this fight?

HR: One of the things, like you said, is languishing on the inside. That's one of the things. There is a certain style of fighter that gives Berto trouble (laughing). It's no secret. I feel those are some of our attributes and I just feel it's going to be a great fight. I'm sure Virgil is going to have him prepared. Josesito is going to be prepared and I think it's going to make for a real thrilling fight, whether you're in attendance or watching it on Spike TV.

PC: Do you feel that Josesito is finally comfortable at welterweight?

HR: Oh, absolutely! He's definitely comfortable at 47. I get asked a lot by a lot of people, "Hey, he looked great back at 40." And he tells me, "Shit, I don't even wanna try to get back to 40." He's definitely settled in at 47; definitely!

PC: Does being on Spike TV change anything for you guys? Any pressure to fight a certain way in this one?

HR: No, not really. The only difference for us is it's a different opponent. The thing is, whether you're on TV or not, you have to fight. I think it is a high-level fight though because, like you said, this is the inaugural telecast on Spike for what is going to be a pretty good series. There is a lot going on. I think there is going to be a preview show on Spike the week before the fight; a behind-the-scenes in-camp look at the fighters, so it's going to be a hell of a fight.

PC: Looking at what Al Haymon is doing in the sport of boxing, you have a couple of guys with him, so what's your take on what's going on?

HR: Ah man, I think these are major moves. Everything that he's done, from Spike to CBS to NBC to CBS Sports and NBC Sports, it's great; just going through different avenues and different platforms to magnify the fighters and magnify boxing. He's always gonna have his naysayers, but he also has about 200 people signed with him that aren't naysayers and are treated very well.

PC: Not to reveal what you talk to Al about, but I think the biggest misperception is that you guys can't get at him or no one for that matter. His fighters, fighters' managers and trainers speak to him regularly from what I understand.

HR: Al speaks to the people that he needs to speak to and that's the people that are directly involved with the fighters. Other than that, who the hell else does he need to speak to? He's all about the fighters, man. Some people just can't seem to grasp that. They can't grasp why the man does not like to do interviews. He talks to the people he needs to talk to, managers, trainers and the people that work for him. He doesn't have to answer to anybody.

PC: Chris Arreola is on the March 13th card as well, right?

HR: Chris is actually fighting on the Josesito Lopez-Andre Berto card as well. I hate to say tune-up, but it's a tune-up type of fight because coming off of the Stiverne fight, he had elbow surgery immediately after the fight; something that he probably needed before, but it was a world title fight and we didn't want to lose the opportunity to fight for the title. Anyway, with that being said, it's going to be a tune-up type of fight and the thing is, we're going to keep him active. Our plan is to keep him active because he's been off for 8 months. This fight will knock a little rust off of him and our plan is to bring him right back. I can't reveal when, but it will literally be right back.

PC: Give me your take on the Wilder-Stiverne fight and the fact that Deontay Wilder is now the WBC heavyweight champion?

HR: I was very impressed. You can't take nothing away from what Deontay Wilder did. He went out there and delivered his game plan and walked away with a victory. You gotta give a man credit for that. I, like everyone else, have questions. Not so much about his abilities, but he was untested, but hey, the man won a clear cut decision over Stiverne, who is a tough SOB, man. You know that I know Stiverne is a tough dude and in boxing, styles make fights and I remember telling Luis Sandoval from FightHype, though I thought Stiverne would win, I thought he would really struggle because Stiverne likes to lay back and wait to counter. I didn't think his style wasn exactly the best style to beat Wilder, but I thought he would find a way to win. To me, the kind of style to give Wilder trouble is going to be pressure, combination punching, and cutting off the ring type of guy (laughing).

PC: I think you have a guy like that in your stable (laughing).

HR: Right, right! You know where I'm going with that. But like I said, man, we're going to bring Chris back here with some activity for the next few months and who knows, down the line, that's a fight that could possibly happen, Arreola and Wilder. First thing's first, we just gotta get him back on track and go from there. Going back to the Wilder-Stiverne situation, you really can't give the man enough credit. He went out there and fought very smart, he used his jab with an occasional right hand, boxed, circled, and put on a great performance.

PC: We have talked about Mayweather-Pacquiao for a long time now. We are finally getting that fight. We'll break down the actual fight when it gets closer, but what are your thoughts on the fight just happening and the importance of it happening?

HR: You know Perc, this is the fight that's gonna appeal to the masses. Sports fans in general, whether you are a big boxing fan, an occasional boxing fan, or sports fan in general, you know who Floyd Mayweather is and you know who Manny Pacquiao is. It's the Super Bowl of boxing. This is a fight that's gonna appeal to everybody and believe me, just from Friday when it was announced, I've had so many people call and text me about tickets and this and that. I heard that it could happen, but wasn't sure, but that's why I booked months ago. I'm definitely going to be there and I'm excited to be there. I've been fortunate to be at some pretty big fights; Canelo and Mayweather had a pretty good buzz, Mosley-Mayweather had a pretty good buzz, and the craziest fight buzz I've ever been to was De La Hoya-Mayweather. Being at the MGM and after the fight, it was crazy. This one is going to surpass that. I'm one of those people that's glad it's happening. I know people are saying it's 5 years too late. No it isn't. The way I see it is, it didn't happen in 2009 and 2010 and when Pacquiao got knocked out, he, like a lot of people, probably thought the fight was dead. He had to rebuild himself and credit to him, which he has, and Mayweather hasn't fell off any despite what some people think. I just think it's going to be a great fight. You have the #1 and #2 pound-for-pound fighters in the world getting it on and it's going to be great.

PC: I actually think, maybe not from a skill set standpoint, but from a name standpoint, this is the biggest both guys' name has ever been in terms of selling the fight off of their names alone. I think 5 years ago, Pacquiao's name was still on the rise to casual fans.

HR: Right! As far as recent history, this is a fight where both guys are big names outside of boxing at the same time. When De La Hoya fought Mayweather, Mayweather wasn't a household name like he is now. He still wasn't as known like he is now. Right now, Pacquiao and Mayweather are household names outside of boxing. Everyone knows who they are. It's gonna be great and the whole boxing world is going to be there. I'll be there and I can't wait. I really can't wait. I think for the next 3 to 6 months, there will be a lot of attention on the sport of boxing.

PC: I always appreciate your time. Best of luck to you and your guys. Is there anything else you wanna add before I let you go?

HR: Thank you Perc for always giving me a platform, man. It's going to be a busy year for us and we're looking to get it started right on March 13th with Josesito Lopez having a nice performance against Andre Berto!



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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