OFFICIALS FOR ESTRADA-MELINDO TITLE FIGHT NAMED; PUERTO RICAN RAFAEL RAMOS IS REFEREE
By Carlos Costa
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 07 Jul 2013
Top Puerto Rican referee Rafael Ramos will be the third man in charge of the action when 23 year-old Unified WBA/WBO Flyweight World Champion Juan Francisco "El Gallo" Estrada (24-2, 18 KOs) of Mexico defends his two Flyweight world titles from the furious fire of undefeated Filipino Milan Melindo (29-0, 12 KOs) on "Fist of Gold II" on July 27 at the The Venetian? Cotai Arena in Macau.
The ringside judges for the exciting rumble are: veteran Takeshi Shimakawa of Japan (boxing judge since 1961), Zolt Enyedi of Hungary and the experienced Raul Caiz Sr of California USA.
MORE ABOUT THE FIGHT REFEREE RAFAEL RAMOS
Estrada and Melindo will have a really stellar third man handling their fight. Inducted into Boxing Hall of Fame in his hometown of Catano, Puerto Rico, Rafael Ramos has been the referee in high-profile world title bouts in the United States and countries around the world, including Thailand, Mexico, Japan, Germany, Puerto Rico, France and Panama.
He was the third man in the "2009 Fight of the Year" in which Mexican great Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Marquez knocked out Juan Diaz to become the unified WBA/WBO Lightweight World Champion (see photo).
Rafael Ramos, who holds a university degree in Business Administration, spent his younger years in the U.S. Army, becoming a First Sergeant and a fighter for the U.S. Army boxing team while stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was also assigned to Fort Benning Georgia, the American base at Heilbronn, Germany (now closed) and at the U.S. Army Garrison in Korea.
Ramos' latest ring appearance as a third man was a couple weeks ago as the referee in the fight in which undefeated hard-hitting rising star Mickey Garcia (32-0, 27 KOs) punished and knocked out in four rounds Puerto Rican "Juanma" Lopez (33-3, 30 KOs). The fight was in Texas, the adoptive State of Rafael Ramos, who now lives in City of San Antonio.
His years as a soldier in the U.S. Army and has a boxer have given Ramos the leadership, judgment and commanding presence that has made him one of the best referees in the world.
Both, the Mexican world champion Juan Francisco "El Gallo" Estrada as well as the challenger Milan Melindo greatly benefit by having as their third man a hall-of-famer referee of the class and experience of Rafael Ramos.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.
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