Jesus Ramos Jr. could put his career back on the fast track with a big win against former unified junior middleweight champion Jeison Rosario on February 1 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Everything was going swell for the promising Ramos until he fought Erickson Lubin in 2023 and fell victim to wonky scorecards in an odd and unsatisfying fight that resulted in a unanimous decision loss for the 23-year-old, Casa Grande, Arizona native.

With high-stakes fights lurking in the distance for the junior middleweight standout, Ramos (21-1, 17 KOs), ranked No. 9 by The Ring, realizes that he can’t afford any funny business with the rugged Rosario (24-4-2, 18 KOs).

“I’m coming to knock him out,” said Ramos. “I’ve learned not to leave things up to the judges, so I’m preparing myself for the knockout. I respect him as a fighter and I thank him for the opportunity, but I have to do my job. That’s the way this business goes.”

Ramos returned after the Lubin fight to score a ninth-round TKO win against Johan Gonzalez in September.

Rosario, meanwhile, has had a rough go at it since briefly holding the WBA, IBF, and IBO titles at 154 pounds following a career-best win against Julian Williams in 2019. He lost the belts to Jermell Charlo in 2020.

Since the Charlo fight, Rosario has crushed journeymen contenders in his native Dominican Republic and lost each time he’s stepped up, once to Lubin in 2021 via sixth-round KO and against Brian Mendoza via fifth-round KO in 2022.

Last time out in August, Rosario fought to a 10-round split draw against faded former junior middleweight title holder Jarrett Hurd.

“Rosario is a veteran who’s been champion and knows what it feels like at the top, and that’s what I want,” said Ramos. “I’m grateful to have a tough opponent and I’m ready to put on a show like always … I’m expecting the best version of Jeison Rosario, because he knows his back is against the wall. This fight is going to define his career, and that makes him dangerous. I’m going to prepare for the best Jeison Rosario there could possibly be.”