Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez says the fight between him and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will not be successful “50-50″ fight for him. Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) says he has a “very good chance” to beat everyone in the division, including Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs). Opetaia could be next in line for Ramirez, so he has to back up what he’s saying.
(Credit: Golden Boy/Cris Esqueda)
Fans believe that Ramirez has absolutely no chance of defeating Opetaia and will be eliminated. Opetaia is seen as a bigger, stronger, and younger version of Dmitry Bivol. Ramirez lost to Bivol via a one-sided twelve-round unanimous decision in 2022, but it could be worse for him if he faces Opetaia.
Ramirez, 33, added the WBO cruiserweight title to his existing WBA belt by defeating the champion. Chris Billiam-Smith (20-2, 13 KOs) on Saturday’s Latino night at The Venue in Saudi Arabia. It was hard to believe that Billiam-Smith was a world champion because he looked no better than the British standard.
The cruiserweight division is weak in terms of talent, allowing fighters like Billiam-Smith and Zurdo Ramirez to win titles that they wouldn’t have if they were fighting at light heavyweight or super middleweight.
In that fight, Ramirez landed a lot of hard shots on Billiam-Smith but he worked hard and outworked a seemingly limited fighter to win a 12-round unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 116-113).
“It looked like he was throwing hard punches, but it didn’t do anything to me,” said Gilberto Ramirez speaking to Boxing King Media when asked if Chris Billiam-Smith’s punches touched him in Saturday’s victory.
If Billiam-Smith had a good set of tires and a better position, he would have caught Ramirez and hurt him with something big enough to take him out. Billiam-Smith was hitting Ramirez hard with his fists, but he was unable to use his power due to stiffness and immobility.
“I don’t know about 50-50. I think I have a good chance to beat everyone in this division,” said Ramirez when he was told that fans believe that the fight between him and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will be “50-50”.
I don’t think Ramirez has much of a chance to beat Opetaia because he is very slow and easy to hit. The only chance Ramirez has against him is if he can win him in a fight, go for shots and wear him down. We saw how well Mairis Briedis did against Opetaia in their second leg. It’s possible that Ramirez could do the same thing.
“Everyone saw what we did in the ring, now everyone is talking about me. “It’s the second time I beat the champion in this division, now people think it’s really me,” said Ramirez. “I know I’m the best cruiserweight in the division.”
Not many fans saw the Latino Night event on DAZN last Saturday night. Fans who saw Ramirez defeat Billiam-Smith and former WBA champion Arsen Goulamirian were not impressed enough to believe he could beat Opetaia or compete.
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