The fight between Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez 44-1 (30) and Gabriel ‘King’ Rosado 26-16-1 (15) that was scheduled to take place at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California has been cancelled after Ramirez failed to make the light heavyweight limit of 175-pounds.
According to Rosado, Ramirez was initially a whopping 12 pounds over and was given two hours to lose the additional weight.
“It upsets me to have to announce that the fight will no longer proceed,” Rosado said on social media.
“This is a very unique situation. At the time to step on the scale, I was told Zurdo’s weight was at 187. We gave him a grace period of two hours to drop weight, coming in at 183. Still 8 pounds over our agreed weight.
“I am disappointed after doing my part, but I am thankful to everyone who supported me throughout this camp.”
In the week leading up to the scrapped fight Ramirez, who is coming off a points loss to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol 21-0 (11) in Dubai last November, spoke of the positive vibe in his training camp.
“Everything was good in camp. I’m ready,” he said.
“Yeah, I’ve seen the Bivol fight back, and it wasn’t my fight. I take the loss and move on. Gabe’s a tough fighter, he’s always bringing everything to the table. I also want to challenge myself. We’ve sparred before so it’s going to be a great fight.
“After the last fight, I want to prove myself. I was in a dark place but now it’s a new start and I’m ready. I have Rosado in front of me and after I win hopefully, I can get a world title again.”
Rosado was looking forward to the bout too.
“I’m back with Freddie at Wildcard,” the veteran said. “It’s my character, I want to challenge myself. I know how to bounce back. It’s a fight that will go down in history for a great fight.
“I know what Zurdo is going to bring and I am too. Zurdo brings a lot so I’m going to be prepared. I’m ready you shock the boxing world again.”
While the main event has been scrapped the card will still proceed with former world champion Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz 32-3-1 (15) versus former world title challenger Mercito Gesta 33-3-3 (17) slotting in to the top spot.
“I had to make some changes. The team I have now is amazing. I wanted to spice things up. As a fighter sometimes you go on neutral, so we had to change some things,” said Diaz, who weighed in at 139.4-pounds.
“Mercito is tough and experienced. After I walk him down and win, it’s going to open a lot of doors for me. I’m very confident this fight.”
“As a fighter you don’t want to dodge anyone. Jojo is one of the best and I want that. You should expect a better me,” said Gesta, 137.2-pounds.
“I just had a son, so I’m not only doing this for me now. Jojo is an exciting fighter so I’m excited. Every fight is different, so I don’t know what to expect. I’ll have my team with me to follow with the game plan.”
The promoter is Golden Boy and the broadcaster is DAZN.
