Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez claims there will be no fight between him and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetia.50-50″ fight for it. Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) says he has the “best chance” to beat everyone in the division, including Opatija (26-0, 20 KOs). Opetia could be next for Ramirez, so he should back up his word.
(Credit: Golden Boy/Chris Esqueda)
Fans believe Ramirez has zero chance of beating Opatija and will be knocked out. Opatija is seen as a bigger, stronger and younger version of Dmitry Bivol. Ramirez lost a one-sided twelve-round unanimous decision to Bivel in 2022, but it could be worse for him if he faces Opatija.
Ramirez, 33, added the WBO cruiserweight title to his existing WBA belt by defeating the champion. Chris Blame Smith (20-2, 13 KOs) in Saudi Arabia on Saturday’s Latin Night. It was hard to believe that Blame Smith was a world champion because he looked no better than the British level.
The cruiserweight division is thin on talent, allowing fighters like Blame Smith and Zurdo Ramirez to win titles they might not have if they fought at light heavyweight or super middleweight.
In the fight, Ramirez took a number of heavy shots from Blame Smith but outclassed the limited-looking fighter and won a 12-round unanimous decision by scores of 116-112, 116-112, 116-113.
“It looked like he was punching hard, but it didn’t hurt me,” Gilberto Ramirez told Boxing King Media on whether he was affected by Chris Blame Smith’s punches in his win over him on Saturday. .
If Blame Smith had a better set of wheels and better conditioning, he would have caught Ramirez and hit him with something big enough to knock him out. Blame Smith was hitting Ramirez hard with punches, but was unable to capitalize on his power due to his lack of stamina and mobility.
“I don’t know about 50-50. I think I have the best chance to beat everybody in this division,” Ramirez said as fans believed he and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetia would fight. The fight between will be “50-50”.
I don’t think Ramirez has much of a chance of beating Opatija as he is very slow and easy to hit. The only chance Ramirez has against him if he can beat him in a fight is to walk through shots and outwork him. We saw how well Maryse Bredes did in her rematch against Opatija. It’s possible Ramirez could do the same.
“Everybody saw what we did in the ring, and now everybody’s talking about me. It’s the second time I’ve beaten a champion in the division, and now people think I’m the real deal. Yes,” Ramirez said. “I know I’m the best cruiserweight in the division.”
Many fans missed last Saturday night’s Latin Night event on DAZN. Fans who saw Ramirez defeat Blame Smith and former WBA champion Arsen Golmerian were not impressed that he could beat Opatija or even be competitive.
