Matchroom Makes Dmitry Bivol-Zurdo Ramirez Offical For UAE

On Tuesday afternoon in the Middle East, Matchroom Boxing made official that WBA world light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol of Russia will battle top contender, Mexican Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in November in Abu Dhabi.

The bout is set for November 5th matching the unbeaten fighters Biovl and Ramirez as part of a new “Champions Series” that Matchroom will hold in the United Arab Emirates moving forward,

Delighted to announce a huge new partnership with @dctabudhabi with the launch of our Champion Series in Abu Dhabi! First up @bivol_d v @ZurdoRamirezz a huge card of World & Undisputed Championship match ups live on @daznboxing ..press conf tomorrow in Abu Dhabi 🔥 @visitabudhabi pic.twitter.com/o8ppWFNAf0

— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) August 30, 2022

From the Matchroom release,

“Dmitry Bivol will defend his WBA Light-Heavyweight World Title against Mandatory Challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday November 5, live to subscribers worldwide on DAZN (excluding South Korea and MENA).

Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) is coming off a huge upset win over Mexican pound-for-pound superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in May, where he retained his 175lbs World Title via a unanimous decision to make it 20 wins from 20 fights.

The 31-year-old handed Alvarez only the second loss of his career, nine years on from his first at the hands of modern great Floyd Mayweather, and in doing so further cemented himself as one of the very best Light-Heavyweights on the planet.

Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) is a former WBO Super-Middleweight World Champion who has won all five of his fights at Light-Heavyweight inside the distance in impressive fashion since moving up in weight in 2019.

The heavy-handed Mexican southpaw emerged as the Mandatory Challenger to long-reigning champion Bivol, after a fourth-round knockout of Dominic Boesel in their May 14 title eliminator in Ontario, California.

“The fight with Zurdo has been brewing for some time, many things have been said,” said Bivol. “Now we have the chance to take care of things with our actions in the ring, and not our words outside of the ring.”

“I’m happy that the fight is finally happening despite all the challenges,” said Ramirez. “It’s been a long time coming and I look forward to a great night come November 5. I would fight Bivol anywhere – including Mars, but I know we’ll put on a great show in Abu Dhabi. I’m happy overall and very thankful to the WBA, Mr. Gilberto Mendoza and the Golden Boy family for being on this journey with me”

“Dmitry Bivol has now secured himself with pound-for-pound status after his victory over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May and looks to make a hugely important defence against Mandatory Challenger and former World Champion Gilberto Ramirez. The card will be stacked with World Championship fights and is set to be one of the biggest nights of boxing in 2022,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn.

“I’m delighted to bring this huge World Title fight to Abu Dhabi and would like to thank Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi for all of their help in making this world-class event become a reality. Roll on November 5 for a huge night of World Championship boxing live on DAZN.”

“With this fight finally materialising we look forward to a great night of boxing to remember and another exceptional performance by Dmitry Bivol,” said Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov. “We are very excited to be in Abu Dhabi, which is on the way to be the modern top sports attraction of the world.”

“We are headed to Abu Dhabi and Zurdo will prove he is the best Light-Heavyweight when he fights Bivol on November 5,” said Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya.

The WBA had previously ordered Bivol to fight Ramirez, as their mandatory challenger, in his next defense. Hearn and Matchroom had petitioned the organization to let Bivol fight England’s Joshua Buatsi, who is ranked in the top five by the WBA. But, they declined.

Bivol is also inline for a lucrative rematch with Alvarez after Canelo battles Gennady Golovkin for a third time on September 17th in Las Vegas.