Zurdo Ramirez On Challenging Bivol- It Will Be War

On Tuesday in California, light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez held an open workout for the media in advance of his challenge for the WBA world light heavyweight title coming in November against unbeaten Dmitry Bivol.

And, Zurdo knows that he’s in for a tough bout with the favored Russian, but isn’t backing away from it,

Successful open workout today for @zurdoramirezz ahead of his world title fight 🆚 #DmitryBivol on November 5th. Catch the full workout on our YouTube channel – link in bio!#BivolZurdo #MakeItHappen #VamosConTodo pic.twitter.com/pCn9U9lIIz

— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) October 12, 2022

““I am taking back the belt on November 5! I am very proud to not only represent Mazatlán, Sinaloa, but all of Mexico and all Latinos. I can’t wait to prove to everyone and to myself that I can do this. Bivol is a tough guy. He’s a really good challenge. But, I am going to avenge the Mexican population since he beat Canelo…

I expect the very best Dmitry Bivol for this fight. I expect this to be an exciting fight. It will be a war,” Ramirez said.

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.

As for the Russian, Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) is coming off a huge upset win over Mexican pound-for-pound superstar Canelo Alvarez, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in May. That’s where he retained his 175 lb. world title via a unanimous decision to make it 20 wins in his 20 pro fights.

There had been talk that Bivol wanted to fight WBA contender, Britain’s Joshua Buatsi bypassing Zurdo. However, Oscar De La Hoy’s Golden Boy Promotions pressed the organization to make Bivol fight the mandatory Ramirez or have to vacate his title. He chose to fight and that will happen in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East next month.