One of the most anticipated boxing matches of 2021 takes place Saturday as the unified junior welterweight crown is up for grabs when Josh Taylor meets Jose Ramirez in the main event of a stacked card in Las Vegas. Their clash closes the curtain on the nationally televised showcase from the Virgin Hotels, with the main card slated to start at 8 p.m. ET. Saturday's fight will mark the 17th consecutive combined title appearance between the combatants. It also will be the first time the junior welterweight division has crowned an undisputed, unified champion since Terence Crawford accomplished the feat in August 2017.
Taylor is a -215 favorite (risk $215 to win $100), while Ramirez is priced at +185 in the latest William Hill Sportsbook odds for Ramirez vs. Taylor. Before making any boxing picks of your own for Taylor vs. Ramirez, make sure you check out the boxing predictions from SportsLine combat sports analyst Brandon Wise.
Wise, who is the combat sports editor for CBS Sports, first made an impact with SportsLine members with his UFC and MMA predictions over the past two years, providing additional value because of his knack for not only predicting winners but nailing the method of victory as well.
He also is an experienced boxing analyst and has produced profitable results with his boxing predictions in 2021. His winning selections include telling SportsLine members to back Jamel Herring (+105) against Carl Frampton (-125) for the WBO junior lightweight title last month. Herring won by sixth-round stoppage to provide his followers with another cash. Anyone who has followed Wise's combat sports selections has seen massive returns.
Now, with Saturday's showdown fast approaching, Wise has studied Josh Taylor vs. Jose Ramirez from every angle, identified the best value in the boxing odds and released highly confident picks. Head to SportsLine to see all of his boxing picks.
Jose Ramirez vs. Josh Taylor preview
The winner of Saturday's main event will join some elite company and also perhaps become a candidate for a super fight in the near future.
Since the WBO was recognized as a major sanctioning body in 2004, joining the WBA, WBC and IBF, only four men have held all four titles in a division at the same time. Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor, middleweights who fought each other twice, were the first two fighters to accomplish this feat. Oleksandr Usyk became the unified cruiserweight champion in 2018 but has since vacated those titles to move up to heavyweight.
The other is Terrance Crawford, the welterweight champion who is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet today. Crawford hasn't fought since stopping former champion Kell Brook in November of last year. Crawford currently does not have a fight scheduled and there has been widespread speculation that the winner of Saturday's main event could be offered a fight against him for the welterweight crown. Wise is only sharing his coveted Ramirez vs. Taylor picks here.
How to make Ramirez vs. Taylor picks
Wise is leaning over 10.5 rounds (-360), reasoning that both crafty boxers will find a way to avoid serious trouble despite their relatively high combined stoppage rate. He also has identified the winner and a prop wager that will deliver serious value. You can see all of his picks and analysis here.
Who wins Taylor vs. Ramirez? And which plus-money prop is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Brandon Wise's best bets for Saturday, all from the CBS combat sports specialist who was all over Jamel Herring's win, and find out.
