By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Former super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (42-0, 28 KOs), now campaigning as a light heavyweight, scored a fourth round KO over Sullivan Barrera (22-4, 14 KOs) on Friday night at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
It was slow-paced in the early rounds as Ramírez and Barrera worked off the jab. In round three, a body shot by Ramírez crunched the 39-year-old Barrera and he took a knee. Zurdo sent Barrera to the canvas two more times with body shots in round four and referee Thomas Taylor ended the fight at 1:38.
After the fight, Zurdo stated “Bivol, you’re next!”
“I think my performance was great. I was training for the body shot. And I think it was beautiful. At 175 pounds, everyone saw a better Zurdo Ramirez. This is my division. I’m going to take the souls of all the champions in the 175-pound division.”
Bivol would be sent to prison if he fights Zurdo because Bivol would destroy Zurdo with ease.
Really!? Bivol has no punch, destroy is a bit much. Now if u would’ve said Beterbiev, then it would’ve sounded more believable. Lol
Jgari: thats the truth lol people get over excited without thinking it thru lol
I think Bivol might have to deal with Buatsi first.
That’s probably why Zurdo called him out.
Great performance Zurdo. Now I want to see you fight someone who isn’t 39, been inactive for two years, and lost two of their last three fights.
Announcers making Ramirez to be the next Michael Sponks
Another mexican with a pumped up undefeated record full of taxi drivers and part time boxers. Now who does that remind me of….
L, man you guys cannot give anybody credit. Nobody has kicked his ass yet, give him credit. You guys cannot see somebody do well.
right!
He not only defeated Arthur Abraham, he really schooled him for the entire 12 rounds. And Abraham was recognized as a legit belt-holder.
In my opinion he had a poor management so far and did almost nothing in the last few years for his carrer or reputation…
…let’s see how he competes against the top guys at light-heavy.
Until then I give him props.
Welcome to boxing lol. Hater exists even amongst the boxers when a fighter is undefeated.
Barrera took the dive, Lets see Ramirez fight someone with a hearth beat.
It is “heart” beat! Lol
I say it again. Zurdo has already beaten Abraham, Vlasov and Hart. Joe Smith Jr was schooled by Vlasov in April but strangely got the MD.
I like the russians in the LHW but I think Zurdo can manage them.
I would like to see Zurdo vs Smith Jr, Beterbiev and Bivol, in any order, and I would not be surprised if he passed the test.
Hope boxing politics will not stop Zurdo from fighting Betterbiev and Bivol. Zurdo should fight Joe Smith next so he gets a belt and then these fights are legit PPV. Boxing sucks when fights like a prime Stevenson against Kovalev never happens. These LHVY champions are legit but there are too few fighters worthy of title shots.
If Ramirez hits any one with that hook to the liver they may take a knee. It’s not like Barrera has been beaten by a bunch of people, everyone who beat him you know their name and I believe he had only been stopped once (Bivol). As for fighting Bivol I can see him making Bivol fight and by the time the match gets past 9 round you will see Bivol fade and get stopped. Everyone lets Bivol dictate the pace Ramirez won’t Smith showed the way but started too late. Bivol tries to KO you in the first couple rounds then after that he goes into the “I’ll box but I don’t want to do anything un-safe” mode.
Wow, Zurdo haters galore!!! I agree that beating Barrera does absolutely nothing for his standing, but I think he’s going to make major moves in the light heavies in the next year. All his focus should be on Bivol, if he passes that test, target Beterbiev. The light heavies look promising for the next few years to come; within the next 2 years, I see most of the top performers at 168 migraiting North: Canelo, Benavidez, Morrell, Berlanga, and Buatsi is emerging as a man to watch in the division as well.
I think the matchup between Zurdo and Bivol would be a good one.