Mike Coppinger reports and Jake Donovan confirms that Jose Pedraza has fallen ill with “flu-like symptoms,” pushing his pivotal super lightweight clash with Jose Ramirez back to Friday, March 4th. Dan Rafael adds that Pedraza tested positive for COVID.
On the bright side, February 5th isn’t quite as overly crowded anymore.
This was unquestionably one of the best fights on the schedule; Ramirez (26-1, 17 KO) is on the comeback trail after last year’s loss to Josh Taylor, while Pedraza’s (29-3, 14 KO) picked up a ton of momentum after a shaky start at 140. Whoever wins will be within spitting distance of a title shot, and it’s a nice stylistic matchup besides, pitting a vicious pressure fighter against a capable technician.
Luckily for fans, there’ll be no shortage of face-punching on the original date, as Keith Thurman vs. Mario Barrios headlines a PPV from Vegas and Liam Smith takes on Jessie Vargas on DAZN. Plus, having the Battle of Jose one day prior to Estrada-Chocolatito 3 should make for one hell of a weekend.