Quietly,
Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez has put together a hell of a career.
Outside of his listless performance against
Dmitry Bivol in 2022, the 33-year-old has looked incredibly sharp. With world titles at 168 and 175 pounds, Ramirez recently made the cruiserweight division his new stomping ground.
It didn’t take long for him to pick up a couple of titles. But even with the WBA and WBO straps in his possession, Ramirez wants to win more.
Jai Opetaia, the current Ring and IBF champion, is a name that interests him, just not immediately. Before Ramirez puts a target on Opetaia’s back, he would love to snatch another belt from a different champ.
“Badou Jack,” Ramirez told ESNEWS.com when asked what fight makes sense next. “He has the belt.”
Money is always great to have. It allows fighters to live comfortable lives at their own leisure while they wait for the next opportunity to arise.
At some point, Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) will be allowed to kick back and enjoy the fruits of his labour full-time, but
he has business to take care of against Yuniel Dorticos on June 28. Jack, on the other hand, has some time to kill before he gets back in the ring.
Activity hasn’t been the 41-year-old's friend in recent years. He fought just once in 2023, skipped out on making an appearance in 2024 but returned to the ring earlier this month on the Canelo Alvarez-William Scull undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Although he’s normally powerful and sharp, the WBC titlist looked off against Noel Mikaelian, but
ultimately won a close decision.
His stock, as a result, took a hit but Ramirez isn’t putting too much into it. As for when he expects to share the ring with his fellow cruiserweight champs, he isn’t entirely sure. What he can say with confidence, however, is when the dust clears and the best cruiserweight is asked to step forward with all the hardware in tow, he knows it’ll be him.
“I’m the real deal.”