By Dan Ambrose: Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez believes he’s got the firepower to defeat WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and he can’t wait to challenge for the title later this year.
The WBA ordered Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) to defend against #1 WBA Ramirez next, but they still haven’t negotiated a date or a location for the fight.
Ramirez should consider trimming down in size for the Bivol fight because he’s too slow for him to have much of a chance of winning.
In Ramirez’s last fight against Dominic Boesel, he rehydrated to 203 lbs after weighing in at 174, and it had a negative impact on his hand speed & mobility.
Even big, slow 250+ lb heavyweights are faster than Ramirez at this point in his career, and he’s going to going to be easily outmaneuvered when it comes time for him to challenge the fleet of foot Bivol.
Ramirez lacks the speed to defeat Bivol, and when that fight happens, it’s likely going to end badly for the former WBO 168-lb champion.
It’s too bad Ramirez outgrew the super middleweight division because he was a good champion in that weight class. His problem is no one wanted to fight him, so he found himself in the same position David Benavidez is in right now.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn says he plans on asking the WBA for an exemption for Bivol to allow him to face Joshua Buatsi first and then Ramirez.
The way Bivol is fighting right now, I don’t think it matters which of the two he faces next. He’s a level or two above Zurdo Ramirez and Buatsi in terms of talent.
Ramirez can beat Bivol says De La Hoya
“Bivol has no promoter, so we’re dealing with his manager,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV when asked about the WBA-ordered fight between 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto Ramirez.
“We look forward to negotiating, and we have 30 days to negotiate,” De La Hoya continued. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something, and I’m sure DAZN will be extremely happy to have that fight on DAZN,” said Oscar.
Don’t be surprised if Hearn works a deal with the WBA to allow Bivol to take the fight with Buatsi first. Again, it’s not a big deal if Bivol fights Buatsi first because he still won’t be able to face Canelo Alvarez in his next fight.
That’s the match-up that Bivol obviously wants because it pays the most, and it would give him a bigger spotlight. Ramirez & Buatsi are arguably nuisance-type fights, which won’t help Bivol’s popularity, and will consume valuable time in his career.
“I strongly feel Zurdo has a tremendous shot at beating Bivol. Not only because he’s a bigger guy and a strong fighter, but he’s only getting better. He’s moving on his toes more, he knows the distance, and obviously, he learned a lot from the Canelo loss,” said De La Hoya.
Oscar needs to have a big cup of coffee and rewatch Ramirez’s last fight against Dominic Boesel to see how limited his fighter Zurdo is.
The reality is that Ramirez is too slow at 175 to beat Bivol, Artur Beterbiev, or any of the top-five contenders. He’d be taken apart by those fighters and likely by Buatsi, Callum Smith, Joe Smith Jr, and Craig Richards.
Bivol vs. Ramirez possible for Oct. or Nov
“I fought two times in an eliminator, and now it’s my time to shine like a diamond,” said Gilberto Ramirez to Fighthype when asked about his thoughts on the WBA ordering Bivol to fight him. “I’m so happy for that because I was waiting for a long time for that.
“He fought Canelo, and it was really good for me because he beat Canelo, one of the best fighters in the world, and now it’s time to tell everyone who I am.
“Both of us what to be the best. He proved that he’s the best, and I’m going to prove that I’m the best. No, it still needs to be negotiated. We don’t have nothing yet,” said Ramirez when asked if there’s a date for his fight against Bivol.
“I can’t wait. I think it’ll be in October or November, and I don’t know. It’ll happen this year. Yes, that’s what I’m thinking,” Ramirez said when asked if the Bivol fight will take place in Southern California or Las Vegas,” Ramirez said.
Zurdo: Bivol has “never faced someone like me”
“Yes, I’m super happy with my career and what I’m doing,” said Zurdo Ramirez. “I will prove to myself that I can do it, and I will prove to everyone that I’m the best. It’ll go be decision because of his footwork, but anything can happen in the ring.
“Maybe I can knock him out. Yeah, I see myself having my hand raised as a champion and proving to myself. I’ve been doing this for years because I want to prove my best. That’s why I started in boxing so that I can prove that I can do it.
“I’m calm in the ring, intelligent, and I try to do it the right way because I like to do everything right, everything perfect. You have to be calm in the ring, throw a lot of punches and win the fight.
“Of course, because I’ve had 44 fights, and I’ve been with many fighters,” said Gilberto when asked if he’s had enough rounds recently to be prepared for a fight against Bivol later this year.
“I’ve had some hard fights in the ring. For me, it’s enough; the time that I have. In boxing, I have a lot of experience. I know what I can do in the ring, and I believe in myself. I know I can beat this guy. He can hit hard and do whatever he wants. He’s never faced someone like me,” Ramirez said about Bivol.
“Yes, of course, because I’m a Mexican fighter, and I have a big heart, and I love to fight with the best. He will never fight me because he knows what type of fighter I am,” said Zurdo Ramirez when asked if Canelo would fight him if he beats Bivol.
Gilberto open to a rematch clause
“If he wants to fight Bivol at 168, that’s fine because he wants to do the rematch with him,” said Ramirez. “But I will take the [WBA 175-lb] belt. Eventually, he will have no choice but to fight me. I’m younger than Canelo, and people want to see the fight too.
“I think he’s [Canelo] one of the best. If he wants to fight at 175 against Bivol, there’s no point to do that. He can fight anyone else, any other fighter. He has so many fights that would be interesting to make a fight with him.
‘But there’s no point for him to fight again at 175 even with me. He can choose any fighter any day because he has already proved already what he did. He doesn’t need to prove anything else.
“No, of course,” said Gilberto when asked if he’d be interested in going down to 168 to fight against Canelo. “He needs to move up. He already did it twice. Why shouldn’t he do it to fight me?
“We can do a rematch, put a rematch clause, but I will beat him for sure,” said Ramirez when asked if he thinks there will be a rematch clause for the Bivol fight.
“Yeah, of course, that’s the type of fight that I want,” said Ramirez when asked if he’d be interested in fighting IBF/WBC/WBO 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev at some point in the future. “I want to face him too.
“I’m really excited and really happy about this opportunity, as I say. I won’t miss this fight, and I will take it, and I’m so glad that it happened,” said Ramirez.
