NEW YORK – Jose Ramirez knows as well as any boxer in the 140-pound division that Arnold Barboza Jr. is much more than a live underdog in his fight with Teofimo Lopez.

Barboza became only the second opponent to defeat Ramirez when they boxed five months ago in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ramirez, a former WBC/WBO 140-pound champ from Avenal, California, believes Barboza earned a victory in their 10-round, 140-pound bout November 16 at ANB Arena.

Winning a much higher-profile fight when he opposes Lopez on Friday night in Times Square will require more aggression, according to Ramirez, than Barboza exhibited the night they fought, though. Ramirez realizes the Brooklyn-born Lopez, who will defend his Ring and WBO junior welterweight titles, will exploit passivity if Barboza allows it.

“I think Barboza has all the tools to win,” Ramirez told The Ring. “I just would like to see him have that killer instinct a little bit more and not just, you know, do enough to outbox him or score by points. I think sometimes when you come across an explosive fighter, you also have to have that killer instinct.

“Like, not just fight from the outside, but sometimes, when you land a good shot, you follow up and take him to the ropes and have the other fighter respect you. Because then, you might find yourself in a position where you could always be in trouble, at any point in the fight. But I think he has all the tools to win the fight.”

While Lopez possesses power and boxing abilities that served him well in points victories over elite-level fighters in Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, Ramirez considers Barboza’s activity to be a significant advantage in the third fight DAZN Pay-Per-View will stream as part of The Ring’s “FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves” outdoor card.

Barboza, 33, has beaten Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) and British southpaw Jack Catterall (30-2, 13 KOs) in back-to-back bouts over the past five months. The El Monte, California native’s split-decision defeat of Catterall on February 15 at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England won Barboza the WBO interim 140-pound crown and moved him into position to secure the bout he has long wanted with Lopez.

Lopez, 27, has not competed since his easy 12-round points victory versus Canadian underdog Steve Claggett (39-8-2, 27 KOs) last June 29 in Miami Beach, Florida.

“Teofimo, how active has he been?,” Ramirez asked. “I think he fought once last year, I believe. There’s a lot of fighters on this card, besides me and Barboza, that haven’t been that active. And I think that’s gonna play in our favor, big time. These guys, once they feel the leather touch the body again, it’s gonna feel a little different. You know, and they get caught up in their promoting and their outside-of-the-ring characteristics. But when it’s in a fight, against a real fighter, it changes. So, that’s why I think Barboza has everything to win.”

Lopez is more than a 2-1 favorite to beat Barboza according to DraftKings. Former undisputed lightweight champ Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs, 1 NC) is a much heavier favorite, 12-1, to defeat Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in their 12-round, 144-pound bout Friday night, which will immediately follow Lopez-Barboza.

DAZN’s coverage of this five-fight event is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET. It costs $59.99 in the United States and can be bundled with another Pay-Per-View event Saturday night for $89.99.

The subsequent show at ANB Arena in Riyadh will feature Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez. Guadalajara’s Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) will attempt to re-unify all of boxing’s super middleweight titles when he defends his Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships against Cuban-born, Germany-based IBF champ William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs).