By Brian Webber: Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez boldly predicted victory during Thursday’s final press conference for his title challenge to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on Saturday, November 5th.
Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) is looking to snatch Bivol’s WBA belt and parlay it into getting a massive money, life-changing fight against Canelo Alvarez when he battles the unbeaten champion on DAZN in Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. ET card at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Despite the confidence of the 31-year-old former WBO super middleweight champion ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya, Bivol remains the favorite for this fight with the oddsmakers.
They obviously were impressed with what they saw of Bivol in his victory over Canelo Alvarez earlier this year in May.
It was the way that Bivol thoroughly dominated Canelo that perhaps has given the oddsmakers the belief that he’ll be too good for the much bigger but slower Gilberto in this fight.
Ramirez and Bivol share a common opponent in Sullivan Barrera. In 20021, Ramirez knocked out the 39-year-old Barrera in the fourth round. Two years earlier, Bivol defeated a slightly younger and fresher Barrera in the 12th round of a one-sided fight.
“I really believe I can become a two-time world champion this Saturday,” said Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on Thursday for the final press conference for his title challenge of WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol this Saturday, November 5th, in Abu Dhabi.
“I’ve been training hard for this fight, and I will take the belt this Saturday, that’s for sure,” said Zurdo.
The above quotes are just a small example of some of the things the 31-year-old Ramirez has said during the build-up to the fight that makes many boxing fans believe that he can win this fight against Bivol.
It would be a little more believable that Ramirez could win if he’d looked better in his recent fights at 175. Although Ramirez has come out victorious in all five of his fights since moving up to light heavyweight in 2019, he’s looked very slow with hand and foot speed.
“Forty-four tried, and 44 failed. I’m excited. This is the type of fight that the fans have to see for boxing,” said Zurdo Ramirez.
“I just see it as becoming a two-time world champion. I don’t see it as becoming a big boxing star. My goal is to become a two-time world champion,” said Ramirez.
