After May 22nd, there will be only one world junior welterweight champion. WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) will battle IBF/WBA king Josh Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) for division supremacy that day (ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 8:30 p.m. ET) at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Before they go toe-to-toe, ESPN will take fans behind the scenes of both training camps with "Blood Sweat & Tears: Ramirez vs. Taylor,” a two-part documenary chronicling the build-up to this cross-continental showdown. Part 1 premieres this Sunday, May 9th at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on ESPN2, while Part 2 drops on ESPN2 the following Sunday, May 16th at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Immediately after the debut of each episode, they will be available for replay on-demand in the ESPN App and on ESPN.com.

 

Ramirez, the pride of California’s Central Valley, has been a champion since March 2018. He unified his two titles in July 2019 with a knockout of Maurice Hooker and is coming off last August’s majority decision over former titlist Viktor Postol. The all-access cameras caught Ramirez at training camp in Riverside, California, and in the Central Valley as he led the charge with community leaders to make the COVID-19 vaccination readily available to the region’s agricultural workers.

 

Taylor, from Edinburgh, Scotland, hopes to become only the second undisputed champion in Scottish boxing history, following lightweight legend Ken Buchanan. “The Tartan Tornado” reached the division’s apex with title-winning efforts in 2019 over Ivan Baranchyk and Regis Prograis. The cameras followed Taylor from the start of training camp in London to the finishing touches in Las Vegas. Taylor’s head trainer, Ben Davison, helped guide heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s return to the ring in 2018 after a prolonged absence.