Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez has opened the door to a possible campaign at heavyweight in the future.
Cruiserweight Ramirez, 33, is preparing feverishly for his upcoming WBA and WBO 200lbs unification championship against Chris Billam-Smith in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 16.
Mexico’s Ramirez is hopeful of getting the job done in faraway Saudi Arabia.
“There must be a best performance in Saudi Arabia right now on November 16. And then probably two years, three years, I can move up in weight and be a heavyweight,” Ramirez told BoxingScene.
Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) held the WBO super middleweight title from 2016 to 2018 having decisioned Arthur Abraham to win the belt. The Mexican went on to make five successful defenses of his 168lbs title before moving up to 175.
Ramirez continued with his stellar career at light heavyweight, recording five consecutive wins en route to a WBA championship with champion Dmitry Bivol. That fight did not go Ramirez’s way, which saw the Mexican to move to cruiserweight.
“I had another fight after the Bivol defeat and I couldn’t make weight. And I was like, ‘Okay. I’m done with 175 and I need to move on’.”
After making a successful 200-pound debut against Joe Smith Jnr last October, Ramirez landed a shot at Armenian Arsen Goulamirian’s WBA crown, cruising to a 12-round unanimous decision win.
On November 16, Ramirez will have another opportunity to make history if he can unify the cruiserweight division against Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs).
Only time will tell, but Ramirez remains confident of an emphatic victory.
“I see my hands being raised that night. I think it would be a nice win for me and I can actually give the fans the best fight possible. I want people to remember me as a legend who gave everything to the fans.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.
