Unbeaten WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol faces off against mandatory challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez at today’s final press conference ahead of Saturday night’s clash at the Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi. Bivol is coming off a huge upset win over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in May, where he retained his 175lb world title via a unanimous decision to make it 20 wins from 20 fights.
Dmitry Bivol: “I really had a big dream to win this belt and I don’t want to leave it. I will fight for this and I want to keep it. I want more…I have been here since September 27th. I feel like I had everything that I needed for training…when people tell me that I have achieved everything it’s like they pour water on my fire. I try to only think about my dream, to realise my full potential. I try to be hungry and angry every time and be focused on training and my opponents. I try to think about how this Saturday night will be the hardest fight of my career. It makes me more focused on the night.”
Zurdo Ramirez: “I really believe that I can become a two-time world champion on Saturday…I’ve been training hard for this fight and I will take the belt this Saturday that’s for sure. 44 tried, 44 fell. I hope that the people enjoy the fight because this is the type of fight that fans like to see in boxing…my goal is to become a two-time world champion, continue to build my legacy and eventually to become a legend.”