Jose Ramirez has branded Josh Taylor a 'fake' and accused his divisional rival of being disrespectful, just days before the bitter rivals come face-to-face again in the ring at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Super-lightweight champions Ramirez and Taylor will put their titles on the line on Saturday night with the California native looking to extend his undefeated professional career to 27-0 on home soil. 

Taylor (17-0, 13 KO's) is known for his confident, sometimes brash, personality but has largely kept the trash talk to a bare minimum, even going so far as to say that he deeply 'respects' his upcoming opponent.   

However, Ramirez (26-0, 17 KO's) insists that this couldn't be further from the truth as he revealed tensions are bubbling beneath the surface. 

"I could tell this guy’s fake," Ramirez said to BoxingScene. "That’s the good thing about me – I’m gonna be real in front of the cameras and I’m gonna be real in front of [my opponent].

"When the cameras are off, I’m not gonna disrespect no one.

"You know, this guy, he started disrespecting me when the microphone wasn’t on him. You know what I mean?"

American Ramirez didn't stop there, either, as he stoked up their simmering feud with a brutal assessment of Taylor.

"He’s someone that, no matter what he accomplishes in life, he’s a terrible guy, man," he added. "He’s a terrible guy. I could tell by the words he uses.

"If he's willing to disrespect a guy that has made it this far, you know, I’m sure this guy is willing to disrespect any other guy."

In any case, Ramirez claims he has not allowed himself to become distracted by Taylor's attempts at playing mind games and believes it is typical behaviour from 'The Tartan Tornado.'

He continued: "I’ve heard some comments from people in the UK, saying how terrible of a person he is.

"I didn’t see it until right now, because I could kind of see it. He wasn’t being very respectful once the cameras were off.

"He was trying to be the tough guy again. Even though it doesn’t faze me, at least I get to see that he’s a hypocrite."

Read more: Josh Taylor vs Jose Ramirez: Scotsman is confident he will win