Arthur Abraham vs Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramírez
On November 20, Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez faced and defeated Gevorg Khatchikian, remaining the North American Boxing Federation champion and retaining the super middleweight championship of the World Boxing Organization.
The next day, Arthur Abraham, the WBO super middleweight champion, retained his belt by defeating Martin Murray by split decision.
Now, the World Boxing Organization has ordered the young Mexican champion to face "King Arthur", preferably within the first quarter of the year. Ramirez was already expecting this opportunity, as with his undefeated record of 33 wins and 24 knockouts, it was only a matter of time.
Gilberto Ramirez feels ready to face the champion
"I love the opportunity to make history, it's an extra motivation. Being the first Mexican to be a world champion at 168 pounds would be like leaving a mark in this sport," Ramirez commented before finding out that the fight against Abraham had already been scheduled by regulation.
And he is confident that he will be able to have a great fight.
With a height of 6'3" against Abraham's 5'9", he has good chances if he takes advantage of his reach. At 24 years old, it is expected that he will take advantage of his youth, combined with his other qualities.
In the event that the fight takes place in Germany, Arthur's territory, the Mexican is not bothered because he believes he is capable of achieving the result and the championship in his favor in any setting.
For the first time in super middleweight, Abraham will face a much larger opponent
His promoter, Bob Arum, also has no influence on whether the fight takes place in Germany, but prefers the bout to be in the United States.
"But I'm not worried about going to Germany for the fight, despite the fact that we prefer it to be in the United States. If we have to go to Germany, we will go. We know that the WBO will ensure that there are neutral officials. But if we can make a deal to have it in the United States, we would like to do it in March on HBO."
The fight must be negotiated within the next 30 days, with a base of $300,000. If an agreement is not reached, the fight will go to auction.