Fighter Profiles: Lopez, Diaz, De La Hoya & Ramirez!

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Media Workout for Fantasy Springs Fights

josesitoRiverside’s Josesito Lopez will face “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis on Dec. 13 as the main event of the “Golden Boy Live!” fights at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. As this showdown nears, Lopez and three of the undercard fighters (Joseph Diaz Jr., Diego De La Hoya and Julian Ramirez) were featured at Tuesday’s Media Workout in Los Angeles. The Dec. 13 show will air on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes and is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Goossen Tutor Promotions, Thompson Boxing Promotions and Star Boxing.

Walking into the large gym, I could feel the crowd already buzzing as the prizefighters circulated doing one-on-one interviews and working out in the ring. The workout was held at the Ponce De Leon Boxing Gym with owner Daniel Ponce De Leon in attendance, along with many other fighters coming out to show their support including Jesus Soto Karass (facing Keith Thurman on Dec. 14), Julio “The Kidd” Diaz, Alfonso Gomez, Freddy Hernandez (keeping watch over Ponce De Leon’s new baby Jacinto), Alejandro “Cobrita” Gonzalez Jr., Giovani Segura, Walter Sarnoi, and more.

Holding court in the Montebello gym where the four local fighters who will be lacing up in a week and a half. One common denominator in Lopez, Diaz, De La Hoya and Ramirez is that each one appears in shape, ready to go and confident as their camps head into the final days of training. They all have been working hard to get that victory. For Lopez, known as the “Riverside Rocky,” a win is a must as he’s been the underdog and on the short end of the stick in his two last fights against sluggers Marcos Maidana and Canelo Alvarez. After upsetting Victor Ortiz, Lopez is aiming for a W against southpaw Arnaoutis.

And the three undercard fighters have this in common: All are young, humble and hungry. And all three unbeatens have boxing pedigrees attached to their names. “JoJo” Diaz, a 2012 Olympian, is just 21 years old and has a wealth of amateur experience behind him. Julian Ramirez, 20, is a relative of warrior Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez (who passed away from cancer in 2011) and has a spotless 9-0 record. And the youngest of the four is 19-year-old Diego De La Hoya, a cousin of the “Golden Boy” himself, Oscar De La Hoya.

These young guns will all be heading into the battlefield when they step into the ring on Dec. 13. Hear what the fighters and their teams had to say as they look forward to their upcoming bouts!

JOSESITO LOPEZ: After breaking the jaw of “Vicious” Victor Ortiz, the SoCal welterweight gained an enormous fan base as the unlikely underdog who made good. In his next two clashes, he was defeated by the larger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and the hard-hitting Marcos Maidana. A win against veteran Mike Arnaoutis puts Lopez in a good position for bigger fights in 2014. Jose says he likes facing southpaws and he is motivated to capture a solid victory on this televised card.Ponce

Training out of the II Feathers Boxing Gym with coach Henry Ramirez, the team says this will be a good card on this “Golden Boy Live!” production. I asked the trainer his thoughts on not being the underdog this time as the challenger has won just three of his last several fights. Ramirez does not look past this opponent. “Arnaoutis is a really durable guy, a solid fighter,” Henry tells me. “So this could be 10 hard rounds.” Are they looking for a knockout? “We won’t go after a knockout…If it comes, it comes,” Ramirez replies.

Jose will stay at 147 and explore options next year in this talent-rich division. Wearing a “Making Doubters Into Believers” T-shirt, Lopez remains the one fans want to root for. Co-promoted by Thompson Boxing and Goossen Tutor, Josesito is a crowd favorite who enjoys interacting with his fans through his Twitter and Facebook.

JOSEPH DIAZ JR.: The 21-year-old southpaw competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. An amateur star, he is now 7-0 as a pro on the rise. The South El Monte hero is trained by his father Joseph Diaz Sr. and Ben Lira and managed by Ralph Heredia. This kid has a smiling, wholesome appearance but when he steps through the ropes, he enters beast mode. With five knockouts already on his ledger, the super bantam told me he’s working with strength and conditioning coach Darryl Hudson, adding a little more muscle, definition and velocity to his physique. The camp promises an “aggressive” JoJo in his battle against the more experienced Carlos Rodriguez, a Los Mochis gladiator who has 35 fights under his belt.

“I want to show my strength, endurance and aggressiveness,” Diaz Jr. said during our chat. “I will be ruthless and powerful. This is my last fight of the year and I want to go out with a bang!”

JoJo says he’s in “tremendous shape and he has been training his butt off.” The new regimen has gained his more muscle mass and strength–which he plans to showcase on the canvas. “I really want to give my fans a great show,” he reiterates. “In sparring, I’ve been hurting my sparring opponents and I can tell I’m even stronger now.”

In the future, he’d love a shot a title. He wants to face the top fighters including Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares someday in the future. But with seven fights, Diaz says he knows he needs more experience but when the time is right he’d love to face any champion in his division.

DIEGO DE LA HOYA: The cousin of the “Golden Boy,” this 20-year-old is already getting noticed in the ring. Trained by the well-regarded Joel Diaz out of the Indio Boys & Girls Club, Diego fought primarily in Mexico before working with Diaz. He is managed by Joel De La Hoya and the super bantamweight will go after his second pro victory next Friday. His trainer likens him to “a wild stallion” with pure, raw talent that will be honed as the young puncher continues his career. Through his cornerman and interpreter Carlos, I had a chance to get to know Diego, who will be squaring off against Abraham Rubio (3-2-1, 1 KO).

He started boxing when he was just 6 and has 250 amateur bouts. He acknowledges that his famous last name brings added attention having already been labeled as the “Golden Kid” by boxing fans. “It is hard to have the De La Hoya last name only because every fighter wants to beat me,” Diego says. “It is a challenge sometimes. So I work hard every day, using that as a motivation to, hopefully, build my own legacy.”

Besides his legendary relative in Oscar De La Hoya, young Diego tells me his favorite fighter is Floyd Mayweather because he is “El Mejor” (The Best)!

Regarding his own style of fighting, the new pro has a favorite weapon in his arsenal. “My favorite punch is my right uppercut,” the likable pug tells me with a smile. “I’m going to give a good fight on Dec. 13 and win one for the fans!”

4boxersJULIAN RAMIREZ: At just 20 years old, Julian sports an undefeated record of 9-0 with 6 KO’s. A talented southpaw who began boxing at 11, he also comes from championship stock. Julian explains that his great-grandfather is Joe Rudy Hernandez, the father of former champ Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez, a beloved warrior who valiantly fought cancer until his passing in 2011. Nicknamed “El Camaron,” Julian is a fresh face in the sport who loves to fight. A well-rounded athlete, he adds that growing up he also played soccer, baseball and raced Go Karts!

But now the youthful boxer is focusing solely on the sweet science. He first trained with Joe Hernandez and also worked a little with Genaro’s brothers Rudy and Victor before training with his current coach Rafael Sarabia. An amateur with a 73-5 record, he won national tournaments including the Junior Golden Gloves, the PALs and the Silver Gloves. He grew up in East L.A. but didn’t meet his boxing family until he was 10 years old. “But I always had heard about Genaro and that their was a fighter in the family,” Julian expresses. “I have watched some of his fights and they’re very entertaining. I like how he fought off the ropes.”

A humble young man, Julian doesn’t want to call out any names when I ask him which dream opponents he’d like to face someday in the future. “I want to take things fight by fight. I’ve seen how people get egos,” he explains. “I’ve seen certain fighters get ‘big headed’ and then they drop a fight.”

And he still can’t believe his good fortune in signing with Golden Boy. “I was just excited to have one pro fight with them,” he chuckles. “And to sign with them is a dream come true; I never saw it coming! It’s a big thing and it still hasn’t hit me.”

He will be the one doing the hitting come Dec. 13. His opponent remains to be named but Team Ramirez will be ready.

See Josesito Lopez vs. Mike Arnaoutis in the main event (with Francisco Vargas vs. Jerry Belmontes in the co-main) at Fantasy Springs. And on the full undercard, you will see this trio of young guns ready to ignite inside the ropes.

Tickets (800) 827-2946

Photos by Michele Chong

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