By Miguel Maravilla
Former world champion and undefeated Mexican light heavyweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez (44-0, 30 KOs) of Mazatlan, Mexico looks to become a two-division world champion by taking on undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol ( 20-0, 11 KOs) of Russia. Ramírez will get his Bivol title shot on Saturday, November 5 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates live on DAZN.
“It is an exciting fight for me and for all of boxing. I am very grateful to be able to take this fight against Bivol, especially since I am so ready for this. The whole world will see Zurdo Ramírez and all the potential that I have,” Zurdo Ramírez told Fightnews.com®. “This is an important opportunity to fight for a world title. I have wanted this fight for a long time and I am very excited,” Ramirez added.
What has become the latest trend of major boxing fights held in the Middle East, the Andy Ruiz Jr. Anthony Joshua rematch in Saudi Arabia, the Oleksandr Usyk Anthony Joshua rematch in Jeddah, and now with Lefty vs. Bivol, Ramirez spoke about fighting in the United Arab Emirates for the first time.
“At the end of the day, it’ll just be me, him [Dmitry Bivol] and the referee inside the ring. A new experience for me. I’m happy, but in the ring it’s just him and me. It’s a beautiful country and I had a lot of fun at the press conference,” Southpaw on fighting in Abu Dhabi.
Undefeated in his campaign, Ramirez slowly rose up the super middleweight rankings due to his impressive boxing ability and height while fighting under the Top Rank banner. Winning his first world title in 2016, Ramirez won a unanimous decision over Arthur Abraham to capture the WBO super middleweight title. After successfully defending his title five times, Zurdo moved up to light heavyweight in 2020.
Promoting his own card in Galveston, Texas, Zurdo stopped Alfonso Lopez in ten rounds. Following that fight, Ramirez signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions last year. Him scoring a pair of knockouts against respected former world title challenger Sullivan Barrera in July and closing out the year by stopping Yuniesky Gonzalez. Ever since those victories last year, Zurdo has been screaming and asking for the fight with Dmitry Bivol, “I love you Bivol”.
“Since I’ve been with Golden Boy Promotions. Things have been going very well and now we are ready for this great fight,” said Ramírez.
Ramirez is coming off a fourth-round knockout of Dominic Boesel last May, the week after Bivol’s win over Southpaw’s compatriot Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Bivol, a product of the Russian amateur program and world champion since 2007, won a very convincing unanimous decision over Canelo in his last fight when he outboxed and outworked the Mexican superstar on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
“Bivol has a great style, his footwork is good, he’s always moving and he has a good jab”, Southpaw on Bivol. “This will be a different fight, from how he fought Canelo. Every style is different, but he’s not going to do to me what he did to Canelo.”
It’s no secret that Mexican boxing fans are passionately loyal to their fighters. Most see this as an opportunity for Zurdo to avenge Canelo and the Mexican boxing fan. Ramírez admits that he was sad when Bivol defeated Canelo. Say what you will, but it opened the door to the opportunity and the fight Zurdo has coveted since he moved up to light heavyweight.
“It was sad to see him lose. We wanted to see him win but Bivol did what he had to do. However, the result turned out in my favor. Everyone got to see what Bivol is all about and now they will see what it is all about. Zurdo is here to avenge that victory.”
Interestingly, Zurdo and Bivol shared the stable and served as sparring partners. Rumor has it that Ramirez got the best of the sessions as he apparently knocked Bivol down during the match.
“We trained together a while ago and it was a good job. We benefit from each other. Now here we are”, Zurdo in sparring with Bivol. “It wasn’t a knockdown, I never took him down, but there were good rounds of work and sparring.”
Throughout his gradual rise in his career, Zurdo seemed to be overshadowed by the popularity of fellow Mexican Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez. While Canelo was making waves and was already a world champion in 2013, that’s when I first encountered a very tall, skilled and promising super middleweight who was just sparring in a gym. I was told the kid would be a champion one day, as some of the sparring partners he was throwing tantrums at were either seasoned pros or highly touted prospects coming off the 2012 Olympics.
“I have worked hard to be in this position. The doors have finally opened and this fight represents a great opportunity,” Zurdo said.
In what will be Southpaw’s biggest moment and stage facing Bivol, the Mexican hopes to get his moment of truth. This fight represents a potential opportunity for Zurdo to now become the face of boxing and the superstar of Mexico. Zurdo’s preparation for Bivol is now underway in North Hollywood, California, as he heads to Abu Dhabi a few weeks before the fight.
“My camp is underway; I have been training and will travel to Abu Dhabi two weeks before the fight. The weather is different, it’s like my hometown of Mazatlan. It’s just a matter of getting used to the time change”, Zurdo said about his preparation.
A win here for Zurdo will catapult Ramírez into Mexico’s next star.
“I’m sure I’ll win,” Zurdo promised. “Don’t miss it on November 5 I will become a two-time world champion. Mexico will have a new world champion”, Zurdo concluded.
Follow Miguel on Twitter @MigMaravilla
The post Zurdo Ramírez: I am confident that I will win appeared first on fightnews.com.
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