Boxing
Maurice Hooker testing waters at higher weight, but has unfinished business at 140 pounds
Jose Ramirez rocked Maurice Hooker with a left hook, blasting Hooker's equilibrium against the ropes, with subsequent power shots securing an electric sixth-round TKO.
Being on the receiving end of such a devastating knockout would be enough to make most boxers’ stocks plunge. Not “Mighty Mo,” though.
That August bout was packed with so much fireworks that it easily could have been Hooker winning by knockout, as he was seemingly one punch away. Ramirez just landed the pivotal blow first, and everything was brought to a screeching halt. Still, there's no shame in losing a firefight like that, knowing that the results could have been different in the blink of an eye.
Hooker (26-1-3, 17 KOs) seemingly came to grips with his first pro loss that August night, as he congratulated Ramirez on unifying the super lightweight titles. If anything, the 29-year-old left the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, with even more respect from the boxing world and an extra layer of ring savvy to go with it.
“It was a loss, but actually a learning lesson,” Hooker told DAZN News last week. “I had a lot of problems going on before the fight, with my managers. I just learned from that. It was a good fight.”
Nearly four months later, Hooker is ready to turn the page to new beginnings. The former WBO super lightweight champion will fight at a 144-pound catchweight Friday night, when he faces Uriel Perez at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix and live on DAZN. The fight is part of the Daniel Jacobs-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. card.
Hooker’s plan is simple: Show out and dominate, before moving back down to 140 pounds and handling unfinished business.
“I’m gonna take this fight and hopefully get another title shot at 140,” Hooker said at the final fight press conference Tuesday.
“I can’t go out like that,” he continued, referring to the way he lost to Ramirez. “I feel like I’m one of the best still in the world at 140. I’m here to show you why come Friday. I’m not overlooking my opponent. I know he’s a last-minute replacement. He’s a good fighter, he’s tough, but man, there’s levels to this. And I’m gonna show the world that I’m on a whole other level.”
Training with the arguable pound-for-pound best in Terence Crawford over the past three months has helped Hooker renew his confidence and add to his boxing skills coming off his first pro loss. Last week, Crawford even praised Hooker’s work in their camp, leading up to his eventual ninth-round TKO of Egidijus Kavaliauskas on Dec. 14.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Crawford said during his press conference last week. “We added some more great fighters to the team. We’re pushing each other each and every day in camp. If I’m tired, Mo will talk to me, ‘Come on little guy, you tired?’ And that just motivates each and every one of us to go that extra mile. Either we’re running, sparring, hitting the bag. Everything is a competition when we’re in the camp.”
Hooker added: “I’m learning every day in camp, and I’m ready.”
An emphatic win Friday night and Hooker would look back on the super lightweight landscape, which has Ramirez and Josh Taylor each reigning as unified world champions, to plot his next move.
“I have another goal at 140 — I want to be two-time world champion before I move up,” Hooker says of his unfinished business before making welterweight his permanent home. “So, I’m going to go back to 140 and see how I feel making weight.”
As for Friday night, Hooker vows to produce fireworks and bounce back with a resounding victory. Not to mention, send a message to the super lightweight champions at the same time.
“I love to fight,” he said. “I’m not running. If I get in the ring with you, I’m going to go straight to you. I’m going to make you fight."
