Gilberto Ramirez hopes that Dmitry Bivol “mans-up” and fights him.
The Mexican light-heavyweight is hot on the trail of a world title shot and has the WBA champion in his sights. The 30-year-old extended his unbeaten record to (44-0, 30 KOs) ten days ago dominating Dominic Boesel before stopping him in the fourth round. That win put Ramirez into the mandatory position to challenge Bivol.
“This is my division,” the former WBO super-middleweight champion said in a press release.
“There’s a reason some of these guys have avoided me. They know I’m coming for all the belts and that it’s just a matter of time. Bivol was sent a contract last year, but he avoided fighting me to fight somebody else (Umar Salomov). I’ve been asking for Beterbiev and Smith Jr., but they both know they can’t compete on my level. As I said, it’s only a matter of time until this is proven.”
Should Ramirez beat Bivol then he will become a two-division world champion having won the WBO super-middleweight title in 2016. ‘Zurdo’ went on to defend it five times before moving up a division.
Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez indicated yesterday to media that he will press ahead with a third fight against Gennadiy Golovkin in September. His two options included the trilogy bout and a second attempt at beating Bivol after losing earlier this month. It now looks likely that Bivol needs a new opponent for his next defence.
“I’m not sure if he (Bivol) means what he says. He’s had a few opportunities to sign a contract (to fight Ramirez) but he didn’t. If the Canelo rematch doesn’t happen, I’ll be in line to take the world championship away from him. We’ll see what my promoter (Golden Boy) comes up with. I’m just surprised by all the talk and lack of action from Bivol. It’s sad to see but, maybe he mans-up this time.”