“I’ve got a manager, my coach, my team, you won’t send there knowing that we’d be in trouble if anything bad was going to happen,” Pampellone told Newstalk ZB.
“We’re going there with the right approach, the right people, the right security.
“I’m excited. The fight is what I need to focus on and that’s that’s my focus.”
Pampellone is coming off a comprehensive win in February where he claimed a first-round stoppage against Plaisakda Boonmalert.
The fight will be Pampellone‘s third world title eliminator contest, the Kiwi having fought Conor Wallace and Malik Zinad in 2024 in a bid to compete for the IBF belt.
Both those 12-round contests ended in a split-decision defeat but his trainer Isaac Peach insists Pampellone is better for the experience, calling this opportunity a dream come true.
“It was a big step up, and we got 24 good rounds against those guys,“ Peach told Newstalk ZB.
“They’re world-class fighters and Jerome obviously lost, but both by split decision, so he’s right up there with those guys and obviously we’ve improved substantially.”
Peach said they’ve been given the word they’ll be looked after in their travel to Libya and it was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Pampellone knows Ramirez, who has 18 knockouts in 21 wins, will be a tough opponent.
“He’s a southpaw, slick, aggressive, explosive,” said Pampellone. “He’s in the top five in all the governing bodies, but this the fight I want.
“I need to beat these guys to show that I belong at the top and I belong fighting for those world titles.
“I‘ve put in lots of work over last 10 years and I’m confident. I feel this time’s right and it’s my time to shine.”
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
