Jesus Ramos is one of the most humble, respectful fighters in boxing.

He expressed appreciation accordingly about fighting for the WBC interim middleweight title Saturday night and the leverage it could afford him in the 160-pound division. The southpaw from Casa Grande, Arizona, won’t be satisfied, however, until he becomes the WBC’s legitimate champion in his new division.

Ramos didn’t waste any time after his hard-fought victory over Shane Mosley Jr. in pursuing that goal.

“I want Carlos Adames,” Ramos said. “He’s the full champion. I don’t want the interim belt. I want the champion.”

The Dominican Republic’s Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) was ordered to make a mandated defense of his WBC belt against Kazakhstan’s Meiirim Nursultanov (20-0, 11 KOs) during the sanctioning body’s annual convention last week in Bangkok, Thailand. Adames and Ramos (24-1, 19 KOs) are aligned with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, which seemingly makes it easier to match them.

Adames is The Ring’s second-ranked contender for its unclaimed middleweight title. He hasn’t boxed since his suspect split draw with England’s Hamzah Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) on February 22.

Ramos, meanwhile, will need some rest after a unanimous decision against Mosley (22-5, 12 KOs), a taller, rangier opponent who landed his fair share of hard right hands. Ramos, 24, stated afterward that he injured to his right hand while training, which limited his preparation for their bout on the Isaac Cruz-Lamont Roach pay-per-view undercard at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

“I’m not gonna lie, it was tough,” Ramos said. “I actually had a right hand injury the last three weeks of camp. We didn’t spar for the last four weeks. So, it was tough to get my timing. I would catch a rhythm and lose it. I faced a lot of obstacles, but I told my family there was no way I was leaving San Antonio without a belt.”

Ramos won handily according to judges Nathan Palmer (117-111), Jesse Reyes (116-112) and Cory Santos (117-111). He admitted, though, that the official result in the record books won’t reflect how he had to dig deep.

“In those last few rounds, I just kept remembering the Erickson Lubin fight,” Ramos said in reference to his close points loss in September 2023. “I kept getting flashbacks, and I didn’t want the same thing to happen again. I kept pushing and pushing. I was in a dark place in that 10th round. I was tired, but I knew it would be worth it when the final bell rang.”