By Dan Ambrose: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum believes that highly ranked #2 WBC, #2 WBO, #3 WBA, #4 IBF super middleweight contender Gilberto Ramirez (29-0, 23 KOs) would beat former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1-1, 32 KOs) if that fight were made right now.
Arum says that Chavez Jr has one more fight on his Top Rank contract, and he would likely have that final fight be against the 23-year-old Ramirez if possible. Arum seems to think it would be an easy fight for the 6’3” Ramirez.
If a fight did take place between Ramirez and Chavez Jr, it would be a huge step up in class for Ramirez because he’s been fighting weak opposition during his five-year pro career and not always looking good. Ramirez is all arms and legs, and he’s very easy to hit.
“They come from the same province in Mexico,” Arum said via RingTV.com. “Chavez, in a million years, wouldn’t fight this guy. Ramirez would mop the floor with him. You can put that on the record.”
Arum would be making a mistake if he were let Ramirez fight Chavez Jr with the final fight of Chavez Jr’s contract with Top Rank. But then again Arum might be looking at this fight in a different way. Ramirez would likely become more popular even if he were knocked out or battered by Chavez Jr.
It would obviously be better if Ramirez gave a game effort in losing the fight, because Arum could point to Ramirez’s young age as the reason for why he was beaten. Boxing fans would then excuse Ramirez for the loss in the same way that they excused Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr due to Canelo’s young age.
It’s not likely that Chavez Jr will do Arum any favors in fighting the still little known Ramirez, because there’s no upside in facing him right now because the casual boxing fans in the U.S will have no idea who Ramirez is.
If Chavez Jr is going to fight anyone with his final fight of his contract with Top Rank, he needs to fight a popular fighter like IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch, WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, Canelo or WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto. Those are the guys that Chavez Jr needs to be fighting instead of Arum’s totally untested fighter Ramirez.
Ramirez will be fighting next month on November 15th against 37-year-old Fulgencio Zuniga (27-9-1, 24 KOs) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately, Zuniga is a step up for Ramirez in terms of competition.
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