Unbeaten junior bantamweight prospect John Ramirez could be one step closer to a world title shot.

Ramirez will face Ronal Batista on October 7 in a WBA world title elimination bout, 3 Point Management announced late Monday afternoon.

The 12-round bout will take place at The Chelsea Theatre at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will precede the main event bout between cruiserweights Gilberto Ramirez and Joe Smith, Jr. Both fights will stream live on DAZN.

The winner of the fight between Ramirez and Batista will become the mandatory challenger to face WBA world titleholder Kazuto Ioka.

Ramirez (12-0, 8 knockouts), who lives and trains in the Los Angeles area, last fought on May 27, defeating Fernando Diaz by split decision in a fight that could have gone either way. In his previous fight on February 23, Ramirez defeated Luis Villa Padilla by unanimous decision.

The 27-year-old was penciled to face Sirichai Thaiyen of Thailand earlier this year, but Thaiyen dropped down in the rankings after losing by knockout to Daigo Higa on June 24. Despite facing a new opponent, Ramirez is ready to face Batista and be victorious and challenge for a world title belt.

“It feels like I’m getting closer to my destination (to be world champion),” said Ramirez, who was a standout high school football player and at Los Angeles Valley College. “I didn’t have to fight my last two fights (he could have waited for the elimination bout), but I risked it all. I’m in a good position (WBA No. 2) and would have lost my position if I had lost either of those fights. We went with it and now I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity.

“This will be my first time fighting in Las Vegas. I call it my destiny. The last time I was there, I watched David Benavidez fight (Caleb) Plant (on March 25). It was inspiring. I still have a chip on my shoulder, because people don’t know who I am, and I’m not getting respect.

“I’m not planning for this fight to go 12 rounds. My last two fights were decisions, but I’m looking for a knockout. I’m going to destroy the kids.”

Batista (15-3, 9 KOs), who resides in Panama City, Panama, challenged WBC world flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Garcia in his last bout on May 6. Batista gave a decent account of himself before losing by knockout in the 11th round.

The 26-year-old did stop prospect Jose Cordero after the fourth round in his previous fight on December 17. Another notable win was a November 2018 knockout win over Antonio Guzman, who entered the bout unbeaten at 19-0.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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