By Craig Page: Dmitry Bivol and his opponent, #1 WBA mandatory challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, met for their final press conference today for this Saturday’s bout on November 5, live on DAZN in Abu Dhabi.
Similar to the kickoff press conference, the 6’4″ Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) towered over the shorter 6’1″ WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) for their 1:30 p.m. ET card at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Ramirez has slowly worked his way into the spot as Bivol’s WBA mandatory challenger by beating Dominic Boesel, Yunieski Gonzalez, Sullivan Barrera, Alfonso Lopez, and Tommy Karpency since moving up to 175 in 2019.
It’s taken the Golden Boy-promoted Zurdo Ramirez a while to get into this position.
“I’m extremely excited. I’m just proud of Ramirez. What he’s been through with the trials and tribulations of what he’s been through and what got him to this place,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya to Boxing Social about Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez ahead of his title challenge of WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol this Saturday night.
“He’s a great technician. I know that style as a fighter. I know what he’s going to bring to the table. I strongly feel this fight is an even fight. I strongly feel that Ramirez has what it takes if his mind is set. He’s in great shape.
“I can’t speak for fighters, and I can’t speak for styles. I believe Ramirez has a great chance of winning. Believe me, when I say this, nobody wanted this fight on Bivol’s side.
“It’s a very dangerous fight. The WBA made the right decision. They came to terms where Bivol has to fight Zurdo Ramirez. I feel that can be an advantage for Zurdo Ramirez. In Bivol’s head, he was maybe thinking of fighting somebody else, maybe the Canelo rematch.
“But you have to take into consideration that Zurdo Ramirez has done the work; he’s struggled to get to the top. He’s taken the hard road, which means he’s taken this fight serious. He’s taken this fight as the toughest fight of his life, which means he’s going to be in the best shape of his life.
“It’s history in the making, and the history of boxing always shows that if there’s a fighter that really wants a fight and really struggles to get a fight, he doesn’t lose the opportunity,” said De La Hoya.
