The 29-year-old from South Los Angeles worked on a few things during the bout and had to settle for a 10-round majority decision.

"The first couple of rounds I needed to work off some rust – the timing and speed of the fight – but after three rounds, I was OK," Ramirez (16-1, 9 KOs) told The Ring. "There's only so much sparring and training you can do, but it's much different than being in a fight. I thought I looked good."

However, he concedes he'll need to improve and step things up to another level on the world stage.

"Absolutely! It comes with how busy you stay," he said. "The better the opponent, the better I am.

"Don't forget that I usually come out of the gate and take people out. This was the first time I really boxed, and I thought I won every round. I thought [the] 95-95 [scorecard] was crazy, and the other judges gave him three and two rounds."

The 29-year-old enjoys a close working relationship with unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez.

Both work out at Brickhouse Boxing Club in north Hollywood, under the auspices of respected trainer Julian Chua.

All of which adds further fuel to his fire that he can one day achieve similar things from boxing.

"We have similar backgrounds," he said. "We grew up broke. We work hard and are dedicated. People were talking (bad) about him. I look at him and know I can do it as well, if I stay focused.

"Everything's the same — except he's Mexican and I'm Honduran and Belize — we even have the same last name, even if we aren't related. He is one of the best fighters in the word and one of my closest friends. He inspires me and we're close."

Unsurprisingly, "Scrappy" is riding with "Zurdo" ahead of his Cinco De Mayo showdown with David Benavidez and has been one of the privileged few to have seen the two spar.

"That's why I see their fight as one of best in this era," he said. "Benavidez is [also] one of my friends and one of my favorite fighters. We've had camp in the same gym, I even trained with his father a few times. I have a lot of respect for him. He's a top five boxer and on his way to becoming a legend, but Zurdo is like a father to me. The plan is for me to win my fight (May 2nd) and come out (of the locker room) to watch (Zurdo) win their fight."

He hopes his opportunity to make a splash isn't to far away.

"I'm taking one fight at a time and trusting the process," he said. "I'm getting better all the time and my time will come.

"I like to stay active and keep the momentum going. I never get tired in a fight. I just need experience. I need fight consistency. I may be ranked No. 1 in the WBA — I'm rated by other sanctioning bodies — but I'm still learning and not close to my full potential."

The working plan suggests that Ramirez will use his WBA rating to secure something meaningful in the coming months.

"I want a rematch (with David Jimenez) because he did beat me," he said. "I want to get that back, but this is a business.

"If an opportunity comes to fight for the world title, I'll take it and after I win, I'll get that rematch. I cannot deviate from the goal of becoming world champion. I'm focused on that main goal."