Chicago’s Champ
Bodyshot Boxing is located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on the Lower West Side. It is situated in a building at the heart of the historic neighborhood. It is from within these walls Rick Ramos and Jessica McCaskill work their magic. Ramos has been a boxing trainer for over 20 years, and it’s evident that he is exactly where he wants to be.
It is here where McCaskill and Ramos sat down with us for an exclusive interview.
McCaskill is an investment analyst and pro boxer, and Ramos is a trainer and gym owner. The two met after she moved to Chicago from St. Louis for work. She already had a promising amateur career, having won two Golden Gloves Championship Belts in 2014 and 2015.
“I had a larger than average amount of female boxers at my gym, and I decided to host an all-female boxing event,” Ramos told Fightlete. “It had never been done before, not in Chicago.
“Jessica McCaskill saw the advertising for the event online and got in touch with me,” said Ramos. “She ended up headlining that event,” he added.
McCaskill is the first woman to headline a fighting event in Chicago.
It has only taken Ramos a short time to rise to the top of Chicago’s boxing world. Under his tutelage, McCaskill has become the undisputed welterweight champion of the world, and also holds the WBA and WBC super lightweight belts. She recently earned one more notch in her belt when she beat the previously undefeated Norwegian champion Cecilia Braekhus last month.
“We have a rematch clause, but it’d be a bad move career-wise for Cecilia to fight Jessica next. I believe it would be in her best interest to step aside and let us do a Katie Taylor rematch,” said Ramos. “We have such momentum, and the only thing that would make sense is to go after KT.”
McCaskill had previously fought Taylor in December of 2017, when she was defeated by unanimous decision. Despite having been defeated by Taylor, McCaskill put forth a tremendous effort and showed Taylor her most formidable challenge to date.
“People were scared of KT, no one wanted to fight her,” said Ramos. “Eddie Hearn was saying that nobody was willing to challenge her. I was like, ‘You didn’t call me.’ I think our willingness really helped us.”
A rematch between McCaskill and Taylor would be one of the most significant events in the women’s boxing world. The two undisputed champions would provide a fascinating matchup and their history against one another would make it even more intriguing.
“I don’t think anyone works as hard as Rick and I do, and I want to keep proving that,” said McCaskill. “We’re the A-side now, and we can have a bit more pull, and we definitely want KT. We’re going to do everything in our power to make it happen.”