By Sean Jones: Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez says he’s “going to war” with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on November 5th at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi.
Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) intends to alter Bivol’s plans for fighting Canelo Alvarez in a rematch in 2023 by beating him on November 5th in their headliner on DAZN.
Bivol had a surprisingly easy time beating Canelo last May, and surprisingly the Mexican star changed his mind about wanting to fight him in an immediate rematch.
Something made Canelo change his mind about wanting to mix it up with Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) again, and he may have saved what’s left of his dwindling career by avoiding him. Now it’s Ramirez’s turn to get the Canelo treatment, and it could be embarrassing for him too.
It’s highly questionable whether the 31-year-old Ramirez has the talent to get the job done, and Bivol will likely beat him too, just like he did Canelo.
Ramirez’s problem is he’s incredibly slow of foot & hand. He lacks the speed and the boxing ability to defeat Bivol. Unless Bivol stands in one place and lets him use his size on him, Ramirez will get outboxed on November 5th.
In Ramirez’s last fight against Dominic Boesel, he rehydrated to an absurd 203 lbs after weighing in at 174 lbs. When you see a fighter rehydrating close to 30 lbs after weighing in, that’s a red flag that they’re fighting out of their natural weight class.
In other words, Ramirez should be fighting at cruiserweight, and he’s only hurting himself by melting down to 175 to fight in a division that his body can’t support. That might explain why Ramirez is so painfully slow.
If Ramirez were fighting at cruiserweight, his lack of speed wouldn’t be as obvious, but at light heavyweight, it’s shocking how slow he is. He’s got to be one of the slowest of the top contenders in the division, and that will be taken advantage of by Bivol on November 5th.
“Yeah, I am [in tremendous shape], and I’ve been training hard like always, and I think it’s the best training camp so far,” said Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez to Little Giant Boxing about his training for his title challenge of WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
“Of course, I’m 175 pounds naturally, and I’m bigger than him, stronger, and everyone will see on November 5th,” said Ramirez. “I’m sorry for him because he has a big storm coming, and it will take everything,” said Gilberto when told that Bivol is already planning on fighting Canelo Alvarez in a rematch next year.
“That’s an honor for me because we’re Mexican, and we want the best for every Mexican. It’s great to have support from Canelo,” said Zurdo Ramire about Canelo wanting him to defeat Bivol.
“Mexico and my people from Mazatlan, my family too, and obviously myself,” said Ramirez when asked to who is he dedicating this fight to.
“We’ve been training for a long time, and the advice is really nice at the Breakout Boxing gym, and I feel great. We’re going to war always. Every fight is important to me, but this one is really important because I have the [WBA 175-lb] title on the line.
“That’s what I’m looking for, and my hand will be raised that night,” said Ramirez about him looking for a knockout of Bivol.
“It’s a pleasure to represent Mexico and be a Mexican. It’ll be an honor to become a world champion. It’s great because one of my goals was to fight there [Abu Dhabi], and now I’m going to fight there. It’s really nice because everything is new for me.
“Now I know the country and the people from there. It’s a good experience. Don’t miss the fight on November 5th. A new champion of the world,” said Ramirez.
