LAS VEGAS – Finished with his February 1 technical knockout of former unified junior-middleweight champion Jeison Rosario, Jesus Ramos Jnr thought a restful week was ahead of him three days later when his father asked, “Do you want to fight March 22?”

Ramos, considering that his prior bouts had been separated by nine, eight, six and 10 months, responded, “Why not?” 

“Staying active is something I wanted to do,” said Ramos, 22-1 (18 KOs), a Casa Grande, Arizona, junior-middleweight contender ranked No. 8 by the WBO and IBF and No. 4 by the WBC and WBA. “I liked the idea of a quick turnaround. Let’s see what happens. I want to see how I feel in the ring. I’ve felt super sharp [in camp].”

Ramos was due to fight Kevin Salgado, but Salgado withdrew and was replaced last week by Argentina’s Guido Emmanuel Schramm, 16-3-2 (9 KOS), a former sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao and Gervonta “Tank” Davis promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz.

“We were supposed to fight before my [March 2023 TKO victory over Joey Spencer]. He’s coming off two losses against opponents I’ve beat already [Johan Gonzalez and Vladimir Hernandez], so we’ll see how he comes out,” Ramos said. “I’ll be prepared for his best.”

Ramos’ return is a positive indication that Premier Boxing Champions regards the 24-year-old highly as he returns from the David Benavidez-David Morrell pay-per-view to participate on this Prime Video card headlined by unified junior-middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora defending his WBC and WBA belts against fellow American Chordale Booker.

“I’ve got to give a dominating performance to stay relevant and gain more exposure,” Ramos said.

Following the fight call, Ramos said he went out for a light run on the Thursday after his February 1 bout and has worked to scout Schramm, calling him “an awkward fighter not afraid to slug it out … I like that. It’ll make an exciting fight.”

Ramos was pleased to hear Schramm say he’s “not coming just to cash a check.”

“I take all my opponents seriously. As long as he’s got two hands, he’s dangerous,” Ramos said.

After this, he wants to move closer toward a title shot.

His best path may be in the WBA, where it appears four-division champion Terence Crawford will eventually vacate the belt as he pursues a September super-middleweight championship against Canelo Alvarez.

The fighters above Ramos include mandatory challenger and PBC stablemate Yoenis Tellez of Cuba and Erickson Lubin, who defeated Ramos by decision in a competitive September 2023 bout but is positioning for an IBF title shot. The No. 1 contender is Abass Baraou.

But Ramos also has his eyes on “the winner of the main event,” and former undisputed champion Jermell Charlo, who is reportedly nearing a comeback.

“I’d like to be back in August or September in a bigger fight,” Ramos said. “The biggest fight – disregarding world championships – is Jermell Charlo. He’s the one who hasn’t been beaten in this weight class. Me beating him, me having that name – he’s the most complete fighter at 154 – would be awesome.”