After an injury kept Jose Tito Sanchez sidelined for all of 2025, the junior featherweight prospect is set to step back in the ring in 2026.
Sanchez, 14-0 (8 KOs), is scheduled to take on Jesus Ramirez Rubio, 23-4-3 (17 KOs), in the main event of a January 23 show, according to a press release. The card will stream on DAZN from Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. It is being promoted by Paco Presents, Golden Boy Promotions and Robert Garcia Boxing Academy.
Sanchez, a 26-year-old from Cathedral City, California, last fought in October 2024, scoring an eighth-round TKO of the 18-5-3 Edwin Palomares. He had been competing between 122 and 126lbs prior to his layoff; this return bout will be at junior featherweight.
Sanchez’s younger brother Leonardo, 23, is a junior lightweight prospect with a record of 9-0 (7 KOs). Their grandfather also boxed.
Ramirez Rubio is a 29-year-old from Mexico. He’s gone 2-3 in his last five fights, with those three defeats all coming against familiar names: a one-round TKO to Nick Ball in 2022, a ninth-round KO against Ramon Cardenas in 2024 and a ninth-round TKO at the hands of Katsuma Akitsugi that same year.
Ramirez Rubio’s sole wins during that stretch were knockouts of a 9-16-2 foe in 2023 and a 6-6-1 opponent last month.
The remaining fights on the show have not yet been announced.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
