Now, the unbeaten Philadelphia fighter faces a step up in competition Saturday night when he clashes with battle-tested veteran Abel Ramos at Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, and live on DAZN. Smalls vs. Ramos will be the co-main event to the super featherweight title unification bout headliner between Emanuel Navarrete and Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez.

Smalls (16-0, 11 KOs) reached this point on the strength of an incredibly active 2025 as he fought four times and produced four wins including his points victory over Jose Roman in October. Ramos (28-6-3, 22 KOs) did not fight last year, having fought Mario Barrios to a draw back in November 2024 as his most recent offering.

Will Smalls, 26, generate a convincing victory on his biggest stage yet? Or will Ramos use the occasion to propel himself at welterweight? DAZN News analyzes the Keys to Victory for both fighters ahead of their bout.

Tahmir Smalls’ Keys to Victory

Establish the jab early

At 5-foot-9, Tahmir Smalls has reach on his jab with quick hands as well. He should use these attributes to establish a home with his jab early.

Considering how methodical and patient Abel Ramos can be at times, Smalls peppering him with that jab early could be a vital key toward dictating the terms of this fight and bringing the scrap to the veteran.

Launch the left and right hooks

Watch Smalls closely and the way he sits on his left and right hooks are a sight to behold as the undefeated Philadelphia fighter is able to leverage maximum torque with each shot.

Smalls used a raucous right hook to drop Jose Roman in the third round of their fight last fall and the flash knockdown came with a slashing angle.

With his hand speed and explosive power, Smalls could catch an unsuspecting Ramos with one of these hooks as well.

Do not get overzealous

Smalls, at times against Roman in October, got overzealous on offense and overextended on his attempts. This gave Roman the opportunity to split Smalls’ guard and counterpunch the undefeated fighter effectively over sequences.

Ramos is capable of devising these openings for sharp counters as well if Smalls swings and misses erratically.

Therefore, Smalls must stay compact with his shots and keep his guard high, tight and intact while searching for offense. He does those things and there is a great chance of seeing his hand raised in victory.

Abel Ramos' Keys to Victory

Look to split Smalls’ guard early

Abel Ramos brings a measured approach as he stalks opponents methodically, while looking for openings. This style could bode well in attempting to split Tahmir Smalls’ guard early. Jose Roman was able to do this against Smalls over sequences in their October fight and the onus is on Ramos to use his veteran savvy to do the same.

Time Smalls for a counterpunch

Knowing that Smalls does not hesitate to let his hands fly, Ramos must gather enough intel to time the Philly fighter for sharp counterpunches. This could come with an aforementioned splitting of the guard via a straight shot or by launching an overhand right around it.

The latter is a punch Ramos executes well as part of his arsenal and a shot that the former world title challenger needs to attempt often, especially on the counterpunch end following a Smalls’ miss.

Up the volume

There are times over the course of his fights where Ramos is overly patient instead of pressing the action forward. He cannot afford to be too measured against an active puncher in Smalls.

Ramos must make it a conscious point to increase his punch volume and get that output high enough to take rounds that he will otherwise miss out on if too reserved.

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