| 28 April 2010
There are times when fate has a way of dictating life. It is a phenomenon often seen in individuals who found themselves immersed in an environment that shaped their personal and professional lives. Such, it could be argued, is the case of undefeated featherweight prospect Casey “The Wizard” Ramos (10-0, 4 KOs). Fighters are fond of stating that they were destined to make their living by punching people, but with Ramos, boxing has been in his blood since birth.
“Man, I was born into it dude,” explains Ramos on how he discovered the sport of boxing. “My whole family is in it. My brother, he boxed. My other brother boxed, my uncle, my grandpa, my dad, I mean I was pretty much born into it. I was born to do it.”
In many ways the Ramos family tradition is still carried on to this day as the close knit family continues to assist Casey in his professional career. In fact, Casey’s father Ricardo, the man who introduced him to the sport, still corners his son to this day. “He trained me from the ground up, since I was six years old,” Ramos explains of his father’s tutelage.
Under his father’s tutelage, Ramos soon became regarded as one of Texas’ top amateurs, and at the tender age of 17, made the decision to enter the paid ranks. After hitting the gates running, Ramos experienced his first career milestone when he captured the vacant Texas State Featherweight title with a hard-fought victory over Guadalupe De Leon last year. While some may scoff at the very notion of state-specific titles, Ramos insists that by design, such belts mean something very important.
“I feel like when I won the Texas title, not to talk bad about any fighter, but it just seemed that they squeezed opponents in there. I feel like I made the title legitimate,” explained Ramos. “The Texas title was kind of down for a minute but I feel like I’m going to bring it back and do something with it. I’m like a true prospect that holds the title. I love the title, to have the Texas title means I’m the number one in Texas.”
Make no mistake about it; Ramos is dead serious when it comes to his career as a prizefighter. His dedication and love for boxing is clearly evident in talking with the 20 year-old. For Ramos, boxing isn’t just something to pad his bank account, no; his eyes are focused on championship aspirations. It is the reason that Ramos has surrounded himself with a team of dedicated people, all with the single minded idea of helping Ramos realize his dream. In addition to his family’s unwavering support for his pugilistic endeavors, Ramos has the distinct benefit of having former bantamweight world champion Paulie Ayala to serve as not only a mentor, but also as promoter for the young Austin native. Ayala’s inclusion into “Team Ramos” was the cause of much excitement according to Ramos.
"It’s great. He’s been there, and done that, and he gives me pointers on every aspect, especially training,” explains Ramos. “Honestly, Paulie was like a legend to me. I never thought I would get to meet him, or speak to him, and I look at things now and it’s amazing. He’s a real dude, and he’s really cool, and he knows a lot of the tricks of the trade.”
When Paulie Ayala announced that he was entering the dog-eat-dog world of professional boxing promotions more than one eyebrow was raised in surprise. After all, Ayala didn’t need the money, or the headaches associated with the maddening nuances that permeate in the world of professional prizefighting. But, to know Ayala is to know a man who wants nothing but to grow, and support, the sport of boxing. A man of Paulie’s pugilistic credentials simply cannot turn his back on the sport that coursed through every fiber of his being, and it is why Ayala decided to launch Paulie Ayala Productions, and why he sought out Casey Ramos as his marquee signee.
“We were not going to just sign with anybody,” said Ramos. “We wanted to make sure that they were on the same page as us, and that we all had the same game plan and mindset.”
So far things seem to be firing on all cylinders as Ramos prepares to battle in his second headlined promotion taking place April 29 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Ramos, who gutted out a unanimous decision over Joe Morales last October in his first fight under Ayala’s promotion banner, is being groomed to be a marquee attraction here in fight hungry North Texas. For Ramos, who is a proud resident of Austin, the prospect of being a household name in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is something he hopes to accomplish. Besides, Ramos spends so much time of Fort Worth, he has immediate family living there, that North Texas feels more like a second home.
“As you know, I was living up in Fort Worth for about a month during last training camp,” explains Ramos. “I’ve met a lot of new people, and it opened up a whole new scene for myself, so yeah it feels like a second home.”
Ramos continues, “I don’t have a problem with that, with not fighting in my own hometown. If they want to promote me in Forth Worth, then that’s fine with me. With Paulie, I’m trying to build my record and take my career to the next level. If you don’t like me because I’m not from Fort Worth, then that’s your problem, and you are missing out on a future world champ.”
(Ramos returns to the ring this Thursday as the headliner on the Paulie Ayala Productions card taking place at the Speedway Club at Texas Motor Speedway.)
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