By Keith Idec

Jose Ramirez didn’t know Maxim Dadashev.

The unbeaten WBC super lightweight champion only had heard positive things about the late Dadashev from Ramirez’s trainer, Robert Garcia, who knew Dadashev from the time he trained at Garcia’s gym in Oxnard, California. Ramirez also followed Dadashev’s progress because, as a 140-pound contender also promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank, the unbeaten champion considered Dadashev a potential opponent.

Even though they didn’t have a personal relationship, Dadashev is on Ramirez’s mind as he prepares for the biggest fight of his career Saturday night in Arlington, Texas – a 140-pound title unification fight against WBO champ Maurice Hooker. Ramirez’s heart hurts for Dadashev’s widow and their young son in the emotional aftermath of the 28-year-old boxer’s death Tuesday.

Dadashev and Ramirez, 26, were close in age. The married Ramirez also has a 3-year-old son.

“I just feel so bad because he had a young son and his wife, his own little family,” Ramirez told BoxingScene.com. “I have a young son myself. And coming from Russia, his only plan was to fight for a better life for his family. For it to end like this, it’s a very sad thing. It’s something that I can relate to because at the end of the day, I do this for my son to be in a better position and for my family to have a good life.”

Dadashev died from brain damage suffered Friday night during a technical-knockout loss to Subriel Matias in Oxon Hill, Maryland. A determined Dadashev wanted to continue after the 11th round of a fight in which he had absorbed a lot of punishing punches, but his trainer, Buddy McGirt, stopped their bout before the 12th and final round began.

Dadashev left the ring on his own, but soon couldn’t stand and vomited. He was rushed to UM Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, Maryland, where he underwent two hours of emergency surgery to relieve severe swelling on his brain.

Dadashev suffered a subdural hematoma, bleeding on the brain. Part of his skull was removed during the surgery.

He died three days later.

dadashev-matias

On Thursday, Hugo Santillan became the second boxer this week to die from injuries incurred during a fight. Santillan, a 23-year-old lightweight from Argentina, succumbed to brain damage suffered during a 10-round draw with Eduardo Abreu on Saturday night in San Nicolas, Argentina.

Ramirez hopes those two tragedies will make some demanding boxing fans more sympathetic toward what fighters endure in fights. While thankful for his huge, faithful fan base in central California, the 2012 U.S. Olympian often cringes when he sees fans harshly criticize fighters on social media.

Maybe, Ramirez hopes, this will make them think twice about questioning a battered boxer when one declines to continue in a grueling fight. McGirt admitted he thought about stopping the Dadashev-Matias match after the ninth round.

Even as McGirt pleaded with Dadashev in his corner following a one-sided 11th round, Dadashev didn’t want him to stop the fight.

“I believe the boxing world got an eye-opener with the passing of Mad Max,” Ramirez said. “That just shows that this is not an easy sport. We’re by ourselves inside that ring. And sometimes coaches and fighters, they don’t wanna stop fighting, even though it’s best for them to stop fighting. But they won’t wanna stop fighting because they’re more focused on the criticism that might come afterwards than their own health. So hopefully the fighters understand – and the fans and the community of the boxing world – learn how to understand the boxers a little bit more and what they go through.”

Ramirez realizes fans want action and expect entertainment value for their money. He still wants them to remember boxers literally risk their lives every time they enter a ring.

“Hopefully people do learn from this,” Ramirez said. “Hopefully this can make people more compassionate about the sport of boxing, rather than the negativity that a fighter might come across through social media and stuff like that. Boxing’s an amazing sport and fighters are gonna go out there and not be concerned about what could happen.

“Fighters will go out there and try to do everything they can to win. I just hope the fans respect that. It’s a shame that tragic events have to happen like this for people to find out what’s really within their own hearts, what are their own principles and morals.”

Tevin Farmer, who’ll defend his IBF junior lightweight title on the Hooker-Ramirez undercard, isn’t optimistic about the deaths of two boxers this week changing the unforgiving approach some boxing fans take to its participants.

“I don’t feel it should take someone to die for fans to open their eyes,” Farmer told BoxingScene.com. “Some of these fans are just ignorant. They don’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t blame them because when people are ignorant, they don’t know that they’re ignorant. You just have to not pay attention to them and just make sure you go into that ring and be the best you can be, and, after that, go home to your family.

“But I feel like fans will never learn. It was a sad moment. But I don’t think people appreciate [Dadashev]. I can tell you that right now. You can’t change ignorant people. That’s never gonna change. I just feel like we should do what’s best for us and do it how we wanna do it.”

In his last fight, Farmer fought more aggressively against Jono Carroll. Though more entertaining in a 12-round fight he won by unanimous decision March 15, the skillful southpaw from Philadelphia drew criticism for not defeating Ireland’s Carroll as easily as his previous three opponents.

Like Ramirez, Dadashev’s death has been on Farmer’s mind as he gets ready to face France’s Guillame Frenois on Saturday night (DAZN; 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT).

“A fan will say, ‘Oh, he knew the risk of it,’ ” Farmer said. “That’s some sh*t a fan would say. That’s ignorant. But may he rest in peace. And I hope his family can heal up from this, because I know it’s hurting them a lot.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.