Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez 44-0 (30) is confident that the WBA light heavyweight champion will Dmitry Bivol 20-0 (11) will be ordered to face him next.
Last month, Ramirez stopped Dominic Boesel 32-3 (12) in four rounds to become the official WBA light heavyweight mandatory challenger for Bivol, who is coming off a surprise victory over Mexican superstar and undisputed sup middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 57-2-2 (39).
There was Bivol talk of facing Alvarez in a rematch but that is unlikely to happen until next May at the earliest. Now, Bivol reportedly wants to fight a unification bout versus WBC, WBO and IBF 175-pound champion Artur Beterbiev 18-0 (18), who has a WBO mandatory defence due against Anthony Yarde 22-2 (21).
“I appreciate the WBA and believe the right process will be followed,” Ramirez said. “I’m confused about Bivol ducking me. I earned the WBA mandatory challenger position in the ring, not once, but twice. He’s been talking about fighting me for the last two years. It’s time!”
Bivol said this 18 months ago: “Gilberto Ramirez is one of the top players in the light heavyweight division. We have talked about this fight for a long time. The time has come to make this a reality. We’ve trained together and sparred as well. He is a professional, gentleman, and a very good boxer.
“He is an ex-world champion who has proven to be one of the best. Fights like this excite fans. This is what boxing is all about, fights that either fighter has a 50-percent chance of being victorious.
Even Ramirez’ former promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, is on record saying Bivol vs Ramirez should be next:
“So, my suggestion to Bivol is if the Canelo rematch isn’t available,” Arum recently said in an interview, “he should fight Gilberto Ramirez, who is promoted by Golden Boy, and Golden Boy and Eddie Hearn both do their fights on DAZN. So, it shouldn’t be a hard fight to make.”
Ramirez, of course, agreed with Arum: “I am not surprised by Bob’s comments. Bivol can’t just demand what he wants to Top Rank. It just doesn’t work that way. Canelo didn’t commit to the rematch, so now I’m curious what other excuses (Bivol) might make to avoid me.
“My team and I still have a tremendous amount of respect for Bob and Top Rank. He is one of the greatest promoters and I will always appreciate Bob for giving me an opportunity. Although we disagreed, it doesn’t mean we can’t do good business together down the line. I still cherish all my time with Top Rank and wish nothing but the best for Bob and the Top Rank family.”