JASON QUIGLEY’S Golden Boy Promotions stablemate Julian Ramirez believes Wayne McCullough will nurture him to boxing’s big dates.
‘Pocket Rocket’ McCullough began training the 16-0 featherweight Ramirez in February and next weekend Ramirez meets Abraham Lopez (20-1) at the Stub Hub Center in Carson.
The 24-year-old southpaw is on Golden Boy Promotions’ books and is managed by Joel De La Hoya.
Ramirez and Quigley work with publicist Rachel Charles, who also worked closely with McCullough in the latter stages of his career.
McCullough is now based, like Quigley, in Marina Del Rey, and Ramirez is excited about the partnership ahead of their first competitive assignment next Saturday.
[adrotate group=”57″]“Wayne is just so smart,” Ramirez told Donegal Sport Hub.
“His boxing IQ is brilliant. He’s been there and done that. He’s just passing that on to me now. I’m learning a lot off him. I’m a lot sharper now. I’m training smarter and harder since I joined up with Wayne.
“I went to his gym and everything happened so fast. I’ve been very impressed by him.
“He hasn’t changed my style or anything like that. He’s tidied up my defence and sharpened up my punches. We’re basically working on strategy.”
McCullough famously was never knocked down in 34 professional bouts. In 1995 he won the WBC bantamweight title when he overcame Yasuei Yakushiju in Japan.
Ramirez had two fights in 2015 with wins over Raul Hidalgo in April and Hugo Partida in October. At the end of January, he defeated Christopher Martin at The Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles.
The big nights are beckoning ‘El Camaron’ and the bloodlines already point him to greatness. Ramirez is a grand-newphew of the legendary WBC, WBA and lineal super-featherweight champion Genaro Hernández
“Big fights are close by. I just have to keep focussed,” Ramirez said.
“It’s a big fight. It’s my first HBO fight and it’s right here in my home town. That’s huge for me. It’s going to be a sold out fight too so it’s going to be massive. I just have to try not to slip.
[adrotate group=”57″]This next fight will be my toughest. He’s 20-0 so he’ll be a very big test.
“My dream is to keep winning. I want to fight in big stadiums and arenas. That’s my dream. I have to keep working and that will happen.
“Everything is going good. I’m sparring a lot and training hard for the fight.”
[adrotate group=”69″]Ramirez and Quigley have become close and Ramirez, who has won eight of his 16 bouts inside the distance, believes that the Donegal middleweight will join him in hitting the high notes.
He said: “Jason will become a champion one day. He has what it takes. He has the speed and the power and he’s well-rounded. He’s a good fighter.”
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