Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez is healthy again and ready to return to the ring.
The WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Ramirez
underwent right shoulder surgery in July shortly
after defending his titles with a unanimous decision win against Yuniel Dorticos in June.
The Ring has learned Golden Boy Promotions is prepared to give Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) a tune-up fight on January 16. Once an opponent is secured, the fight will take place on the Alexis Rocha-Raul Curiel II undercard at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California.
Ramirez will be kicking off training camp Monday at the Brickhouse Boxing Club in North Hollywood, California, with head coach Julian Chua to prepare for the occasion.
A source directly informed of Ramirez's plans told The Ring the 34-year-old southpaw from Mazatlan, Mexico, wants to ensure his shoulder is 100 percent healthy before going on a potential run of title unification fights in 2026.
The Ring and IBF champion
Jai Opetaia will defend his titles on
December 6 against Huseyin Cinkara, while WBC beltholder
Badou Jack rematches Noel Mikaelian the following week on Dec. 13. By fighting in January, Ramirez will be on the same timeline as the other titlists.
Ramirez picked up the WBA title in March 2024 with a unanimous decision win against
Arsen Goulamirian in Los Angeles and the WBO title that November with a unanimous decision victory over
Chris Billam-Smith in Saudi Arabia.
Ramirez is riding a four-fight winning streak since suffering the lone loss of his career against
Dmitry Bivol in 2022.
In recent months, Ramirez has
also welcomed light heavyweight champions Bivol and
David Benavidez for a clash in the cruiserweight division.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.