_1639703642.jpg)
Rather than wait for the winner of the May 7th Las Vegas showdown between superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, former super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will put his impeccable 43-0 (39 KOs) record on the line May 14th versus German Dominic Boesel (32-2, 12 KOs), the reigning International Boxing Organization (IBO) light heavyweight world titleholder and WBA No. 1 rated contender.
“Zurdo vs. Boesel,” presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Zurdo Promotions and SES Boxing, will stream live and exclusively on DAZN from Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
The winner of their 12-round main event will position himself for a shot at the Canelo vs. Bivol winner.
“Boesel is the No. 1 European light heavyweight who has all the accolades to make this a challenging fight,” Ramirez said. “Of course, Bivol, (WBC & IBF champion Artur) Beterbiev and (WBO champion Joe) Smith are still at the top of my list, but they were all unavailable. Even though they are on the top of my list, I’m not waiting for them, I’ve got my own legacy to chase. I’ve said before, Beterbiev and Smith are average fighters at best, and they know not to mention my name. Bivol was close to making it (fight vs. Zurdo) happen, but he got the Canelo opportunity, so I don’t blame him.”
Boesel, who has fought outside of Europe, is 2-1 in IBO world title fights, losing to Robin Krasniqi, while Zurdo is 6-0 fighting in world championships. Boesel is also a former WBA Interim, European and WBO Youth world lightweight champion.
“I’m looking forward to this challenge,” Zurdo added. “He knows this fight can change his life. I’m the best light heavyweight in the world, but I still need to bring my best come fight night. I will have an advantage in experience, but I can’t take him lightly because, he’s a longtime pro who knows how to take advantage of the moment.”
Because he was blocked from fighting for any world titles right now, due to the aforementioned unavailability of Bivol, Beterbiev and Smith, Ramirez considered formally challenging WBC cruiserweight world champion Ilunga Junior Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs). It never came to that, however, Zurdo does plan to move up, but only after he takes care of business clearing out the 175-pound division.
“I still plan on moving up to cruiserweight and eventually heavyweight,” Zurdo offered. “It’s always been my goal to be a 4-division world champion.”