Gilberto Ramirez holds a media workout in L.A. ahead of his big fight against Dmitry Bivol next month.
The Mazatlan fighter is set to fight Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) for the WBA Light Heavyweight World Championship belt on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The former WBO Super Middleweight World Champion from Culiacan hosted the media workout at the Brickhouse Boxing Club in Los Angeles, where he spoke on his current boxing form and confidence with less than a month to go before his fight with Bivol.
Ramirez says he is confident he's going to regain his belt come November, and that he will avenge the Mexican people after Bivol recently defeated Canelo Alvarez earlier this year in May.
“I am taking back the belt on November 5!" Ramirez stated. "I am very proud to not only represent Mazatlán, Sinaloa, but all of Mexico and all Latinos. I can’t wait to prove to everyone and to myself that I can do this. Bivol is a tough guy. He’s a really good challenge. But, I am going to avenge the Mexican population since he beat Canelo."
Zurdo says that he's excited to be a part of this fight in such a city like Abu Dhabi, which also happens to be one of the cities that will host the FIFA World Cup later this year, weeks after Ramirez' fight with Bivol.
“When I heard the fight would be in Abu Dhabi, I thought ‘Wow, that’s cool – I have never been there before," Ramirez said. "After the press conference, I was blown away and I am even more excited to fight there. I expect the very best Dmitry Bivol for this fight. I expect this to be an exciting fight. It will be a war.”
Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy, says that this opportunity is well-deserved for Gilberto who has been waiting to fight the very best in the game right now.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
“This fight was forced on Bivol. Zurdo always wanted to fight for the world title, he wanted to fight the very best. We did our job as a promoter to make this fight happen. We forced this fight to happen through the WBA, through the rankings. We established Zurdo as the number one contender. He’s fought back-to-back eliminators, so he deserved this shot. We did a very good job in positioning Zurdo, and now it’s Zurdo’s job to bring the belt back."
“The fact that he [Zurdo] has that killer instinct, and that he wants this so bad, you can see it oozing from out of his eyes. He’s piercing through everything. He wants that big prize against Bivol. Zurdo is calm, cool, and collected – and that’s what you want from a fighter stepping up in competition against someone like Bivol.”
