Two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez got his career off to a rocky start when he suffered a split decision loss to Adan Gonzales in 2019, but he avenged the defeat the following year against the little-known contender with a shutout decision.

Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) is looking to keep his revenge rate perfect when he takes on Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) in a rematch on December 7 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Espinoza, a little-known contender at the time, like Gonzales, shocked Ramirez last year in one of boxing’s biggest upsets by scoring a majority decision to snatch the WBO featherweight title from his rival.

Espinoza and Ramirez traded knockdowns, but it was the Mexican contender who threw significantly more punches and connected with 222 out of 995 attempts, compared to Ramirez, who landed just 119 of 376.

“I have characterized myself as a fighter who gets up whenever he is knocked down,” said Ramirez. “I have a champion mentality and will be a champion again.

“That was not the best version of me in the first fight. And despite that, I was still able to deliver a great show. So, I do not doubt the second fight will be better.

"Everyone knows that I am a warrior. And I have the Cuban school of boxing. But as the Mexicans say, I also have the huevos to stand in the center of the ring and go to war.”

Ramirez said his conditioning wore down in the latter stages of the fight, as evidenced by the 12th-round knockdown he suffered due to a volume of punches. But Ramirez was also fighting a bigger battle mentally leading up to the fight.

“In camp, my father got really sick. He almost passed away,” said Ramirez, who trains in Las Vegas with Ismael Salas. “That affected me a lot. My father is in Cuba, and I can’t go back. I couldn’t visit him in the hospital. So, that affected me greatly.

“Espinoza didn’t surprise me in the first fight. We all know how Mexican fighters are. They never give up. But, given my personal issues, I was not in the best condition. Nevertheless, if the judges saw that he deserved the decision, that’s fine.

“A victory would put me where I belong. We have to see how this fight will unfold, but unification showdowns and fights against the best of the division are always on the table.”

Manouk Akopyan is the lead U.S. writer for The Ring. Follow him on X and Instagram.