Jose Ramirez, who has won 11
national championships, won six consecutive, U.S. National titles and gold
metals and represented the U.S. in the 2012 Olympics in London, will make his valley pro debut Nov. 9 in Lemoore
at the Golden Eagle Arena on the West Hills Community College Campus. His
opponent has not yet been announced
The fight is called Fight for Water, as Ramirez is a member
of the California Latino Water Coalition and knows very well how reduced water
allocations can cause major unemployment for farm workers. “I know about the water
crises for Central California farmers and it means the loss of jobs for
farmworkers, many of them my friends,” he said.
Born to farm workers, Ramirez
grew up in the town of Avenal on the West Side where he started boxing at eight-years old. He not
only excelled in the ring, but also out of it, as he was the first in his
family to attend a major university.
“I remember growing up and
seeing my dad go to work in the fields,” Ramirez said. His dad has since moved
up and now works for a custom spray company.
“When there is no water,
farmworkers do not have jobs, and that impact their families and communities on
the West Side. “The lack of water has been devastating to the West Side, and the
possibility of zero water next year will have long-term economic effects on many
communities.
“The people who make the
decisions on deducing water to farmers have caused a great of damage to many,
many families and it must be corrected,” he said
“I’m very much focused on the
fight and that’s why I am doing this in my back yard,” said Ramirez. “It is a
fight for the most important thing we need to farm the crops that feed our nation.”