A former light heavyweight champion who once chased Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0 record has taken to cruiserweight like a duck to water.
Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, who boasts an impressive 44-1 benchmark with 30 knockouts, hosted a media workout at Brickhouse Boxing Club.
In front of the world’s media, Zurdo showed off the guns he believes will take him to 200-pound gold.
Former light heavyweight champion
After piling on 25 pounds in weight, the Mexican star cut the figure of a beast ahead of his grand debut in the division.
Ramirez goes up against another former light heavyweight champion – Joe Smith Jr. – “The Common Man” is 28-4 with 22 KOs and hails from Long Island, New York.
The pair will battle on Saturday, October 7, in a clash presented in association with Star Boxing.
Ahead of his 46th professional contest, Ramirez is looking forward to heading to the bright lights of Nevada after putting a loss to Dmitry Bivol behind him.
“I am excited for me and my team to return on October 7 in Las Vegas. I am most excited for myself because some of the best shows happen in Vegas.”
Gilberto Ramirez at cruiserweight
Ramirez added on the massive weight difference: “I feel great at cruiserweight. This is typically the weight I’ve walked around my entire life.
“I feel much stronger in this class, and most importantly, I feel healthy.”
Asked how he’s dealing with the Bivol defeat and being unable to topple Mayweather’s 50-0, Zurdo replied: “Dealing with the Bivol loss was really tough.
“It hurt my soul and my ego as a warrior. Now that I have been able to move past it. I want to come back even stronger, and I want to win. I want to feel like I can do it.”
On Smith, he concluded: “I’ve been watching Joe Smith Jr. for many years now; probably his whole career. He is a great fighter.
“It’s exciting for me to face him because he is a former world champion. He has faced many former champions and great top opponents.”
The undercard of Zurdo vs. Smith Jr. features new Golden Boy signing John “Scrappy” Ramirez. The 12-0 super flyweight star will co-headline in a twelve-round bout against Panama’s Ronal Batista.
Bektemir “The Bully” Melikuziev of Shoimbek, Uzbekistan, who also proudly represents Indio, will face Upper Marlboro, Maryland’s Alantez “SlyAza” Fox.
Daniel “Ikaika” Luna will participate in a four-round super lightweight fight against Guadalajara, Mexico’s Erick Benitez.
Ramirez vs Smith is live from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and live worldwide on DAZN.
