Unified champion Jose Ramirez will finally make his first defense of the WBO title that he won over Maurice Hooker last year when he takes on former world champion Viktor Postol on May 9th at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) is the WBC and WBO super lightweight champion, and he was slated to fight Viktor Postol on February 1st in China. However due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country, the fight was postponed. Now, there is a new date and venue where Ramirez and Postol to get it on.

“We are pleased that Ramirez and Postol will finally fight May 9 from the great city of Fresno,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Viktor is a worthy mandatory challenger who earned his title shot, and Jose will be fully prepared to make a statement. And for Jose, this could be his last fight in Fresno for a long time, so I expect the Central Valley faithful to fill up the Save Mart Center for a special evening.”

The Avenal native has had five fights at the Save Mart Center, including two wins as the WBC champion. He has a following within that area that attend his fights and gives him lots of support, and this will be the third time in the last four fights that he will be fighting in the same arena. He looks forward to defending his titles in front of the crowd there.

“It is always a blessing to fight at Save Mart Center in front of my loyal fans,” Ramirez said. “I prepared for Postol once, and I will be in top form May 9. My trainer, Robert Garcia, will have me ready for whatever he brings to the table. He is a former world champion who I cannot underestimate.”

Postol (31-2, 12 KOs) has competed at or near the top of the super lightweight division for years. He has defeated veterans such as Hank Lundy and DeMarcus Corley, plus won the WBC title in 2015 against Lucas Matthysse. His only losses came to Terence Crawford in a unification bout, and to Josh Taylor in 2018. He hopes to get the win here against Ramirez to become a two-time champion at 140 pounds. Postol looks forward to this bout after it was postponed from the February date.

“I am glad the new fight date is set. I’m already in gym, and camp is going really well,” Postol said. “I was ready to fight on Feb. 1 and now I’m focused on May 9. The fight is taking place in his hometown, but that does not bother me because I have the experience to fight on away soil. I am looking forward to become a champion again.”