Danny O’Connor Hospitalized, WBC Title Fight Against Jose Ramirez Called Off

A little more than 24 hours before he was set to fight WBC junior welterweight champion Jose Ramirez, Danny O’Connor was hospitalized due to dehydration trying to make weight. 

The fight between Ramirez and O’Connor, originally planned to headline the July 7 Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card, has been called off due to O’Connor’s dehydration. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum made the announcement at the weigh-ins today.

The fight card will go on, however, as it is widely reported that welterweight contender Egis Kavaliauskas will fight Juan Carlos Abreu for the NABF title as the new main event for the ESPN card. That fight was set to be the co-main event and now the new co-main event will be a super featherweight bout between Andy Vences and Frank DeAlba.

Ramirez would have made his first title defense in what would have been a homecoming of sorts Fresno, California. The card will take place at the Save Mart Center in front of potentially more than 10,000 fans, which would make it one of the biggest crowds for a boxing fight in the United States so far in 2018. Ramirez won the title back in March at Madison Square Garden when he won a unanimous decision over Amir Imam. 

O’Connor spent the majority of the past few years fighting at welterweight, but he did fight as a junior welterweight in his last two bouts. O’Connor made weight in those two fights, both of which were WBC Silver title wins. The fight against Ramirez would have been O’Connor’s first world title challenge. O’Connor has a 30-3 pro record since making his debut in 2008.