Jose Ramirez, born and raised in the Central Valley in Kings County, will fight to defend his boxing titles in Vegas on Saturday. On behalf of the Wonderful Company, his gear will be auctioned off to benefit agricultural workers in Kings County.
Wonderful Pistachios will match the winning bid up to $25,000.
Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds is the world’s largest vertically integrated pistachio and almond grower and processor, located in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley.
On Saturday, Wonderful Pistachios will sponsor Ramirez in his championship boxing match versus Viktor Postol in the main event at “the bubble” inside the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. The long-awaited fight will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Following the fight, Ramirez’s Wonderful Pistachios-branded gear worn on his walk to the ring and during the fight, including his shorts, shoes, and mask displaying the words “Kings County,” will be auctioned off.
“We simply can’t do enough to support our agriculture workers right now,” said Ramirez, 2012 Olympian and Unified World Champion. “They’re truly the definition of essential workers. Anything will help.”
Ramirez was born and raised in Avenal, California, a short drive from the Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds Central Valley facility in Lost Hills.
Auction pre-bidding is now open, and anyone wishing to place a bid should email rmirigian@gmail.com. Final bidding will take place LIVE on KMJ 580 AM Radio the week after the fight, as radio host Ray Appleton, Jose Ramirez, and one of Kings County’s supervisors kick off with the largest pre-bid and take final bids from listeners who call in.
The fight will stream live on ESPN+ with undercard action starting at 4:30 p.m. Ramirez and Postol are expected to enter the ring around 7 p.m.
Ramirez and Postol were originally set to fight February 2 in China, and then again on May 9 in Fresno, but both fights were subsequently canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) won the WBC title by defeating Amir Imam in March 2018 and has successfully defended the title three times (vs. Antonio Orozco, Jose Zepeda and Maurice Hooker).
As one of the most popular young boxers, last July, he knocked out Maurice Hooker to unify the WBC and WBO titles and became the world’s best 140-pounder.
