Ramirez-Taylor title fight in Las Vegas to host about 800 fans

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas plans to host between 750 and 800 fans for the junior welterweight title fight between Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor on May 22.

“We were very pleased to see that we were one of the top properties that they wanted to come to, and we were able to negotiate a deal that we thought made sense given the limited capacity that we have to adhere to,” said Gary Scott, chief operating officer of JC Hospitality, owner of the resort.

The fight, which will be held in The Theater, will mark the first time fans will be able to attend a live boxing event in Las Vegas since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Top Rank also will host three more fight cards in June at the theater.

Shakur Stevenson and Jeremiah Nakathila will meet in a 130-pound interim title fight on June 12, and Naoya Inoue will defend his 118-pound titles against Michael Dasmarinas in a June 19 main event. Vasiliy Lomachenko will return from his loss to Teofimo Lopez when he meets Masayoshi Nakatani on June 26. Stevenson-Nakathila and Inoue-Dasmarinas will be televised on ESPN, while Lomachenko-Nakatani will air on ESPN Plus.

Scott said he hopes more fans will be able to attend the events in June, but the theater is waiting to see what social distancing limitations remain in place at that time. The venue could hold between 2,000 and 2,200 fans at full capacity, he said.

Tickets for the Ramirez-Taylor fight sold out almost instantly Wednesday morning, Scott said.

“For us to have the opportunity to partner with Top Rank and be featured on ESPN, it’s a really, really great moment for us,” Scott said. “To be able to have the event in the month of May, ahead of 100 percent is really extraordinary. And, hopefully, it’s a sign of a lot more of the attractions and things we’ve got planned for the property and for the theater.”

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.