The highly anticipated Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson cross-generational showdown just became even more exciting. In addition to the co-main event featuring Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor, another thrilling title fight has been added to the undercard, which will go down on November 15th at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

Mario Barrios is set to defend his WBC welterweight title against Abel Ramos from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a fight officially announced by ‘The Problem Child’ on his Instagram stories earlier today. While the addition seems like a valuable boost to the Netflix-exclusive event at first glance, fan reactions suggest it hasn’t generated the excitement Paul might have expected.

Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos: A mismatch? 

Turning to X, talkSport editor Michael Benson shared the update with his followers, writing, “ANNOUNCED: Mario Barrios will defend his WBC welterweight world title vs Abel Ramos on the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson undercard.” ‘El Azteca’ secured the interim version of his WBC title in September last year after defeating Yordenis Ugas by unanimous decision. 

He then went on to defend his title in May against Fabian Maidana, which was followed by him getting elevated to the full version of the title as Terence Crawford was announced as a ‘Champion in Recess’ by the WBC. On the other hand, Ramos, while durable, lacks a competitive resume like Barrios. 

He has been in the ring with the likes of Regis Prograis, Ivan Baranchyk, and Ugas, but lost all of them. He is coming off a 5th round knockout win over Juan Ramon Guzman in March, but that doesn’t warrant a title shot in any way. So, seeing a title fight between Barrios and Ramos added to the Netflix card, people weren’t exactly happy. 

Barrios asked to respect himself for fighting on a Jake Paul card

There has been quite the buzz about the whole Paul vs. Tyson fight, meaning it didn’t take long for the update to spread like wildfire. One fan bluntly criticized the matchup, questioning whether Barrios’ promoters could have arranged a better fight. They commented, “This is a terrible fight…pbc couldn’t do a unification between barrios and stanious??” The critique highlights Eimantas Stanionis, the current WBA welterweight champion, who last secured a victory against Gabriel Maestre in May.

The next user questioned why Ramos was chosen as Barrios’ opponent. “Why ramos has been done for like 3 years smh,” the user asked. In his last five fights starting from 2020, Ramos has lost three against Ugas, Luke Santamaria, and Cody Crowley. 

Someone else brought up a similar point, questioning what entitled Ramos to a title shot. “How did Abel Ramos even get a title shot? He’s been spent for the last few years,” the user remarked. Ramos’ resume aside, he is still ranked 8th by the WBC in the welterweight division. 

Another user didn’t have as much of a problem with Ramos getting the title shot, but the fight being on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson didn’t sit well with this fan. “Championship fight being undercard to a gimmick fight is nasty work lol,” the user wrote. However, that’s not the only championship fight on the card—Katie Taylor will put her WBC, IBF, WBO, and WBA titles on the line against Serrano. 

This user seemed to have the same issue but added some advice for Barrios in his comment. The user wrote, “World Champ fighting on a YouTuber undercard? Barrios, respect yourself brother.” While it might not be the best look for Barrios, he is probably getting a fat paycheck from it. 

That said, Jake Paul and Netflix might not have expected such a reaction from fans for adding an interesting matchup in the undercard of their event. Perhaps a better opponent for Barrios could have been received better. What are your thoughts on the matter?