Could Gilberto Ramirez be on his way to being a 3-division champion?

Gilberto Ramirez is ready to make a title run in boxing’s light heavyweight division, starting with Yunieski Gonzalez. He talks about his future plans.

Gilberto Ramirez, a.k.a. ‘Zurdo,’ is a former champion with an incredible 42-0 record with an impressive 28 knockouts. He has three bouts as a light heavyweight under his belt, and he might already be the most dangerous boxer in the division.

Ramirez reigned as the WBO super middleweight champion for two years but hasn’t had a strap around his waist for three years. That’s way too long for a boxer of Ramirez’s caliber, but the path to another world title has been filled with obstacles.

Ramirez relinquished his title in pursuit of light heavyweight dominance. He hit the point in his career where making the 168-pound super middleweight limit became too difficult.

“Because my body, it was hard to make 68 the last two fights,” Ramirez told FanSided. “That’s why I decided to move up.”

At over 6-foot-2, Ramirez outgrew the division, so it was time to move up a division. Moving up through the weights is standard for any fighter with longevity. However, Ramirez couldn’t foresee the difficulties that lay ahead of him.

Ramirez transitioned from Top Rank to Golden Boy Promotions, and then the pandemic hit, which stalled Ramirez’s light heavyweight plans.

“I was expecting to have about four fights, but the pandemic happened, and it stopped all the world,” said Ramirez. “Everyone stopped, and then it was like kind of hard for me to see what was going to happen with my career.”

You can watch Gilberto Ramirez vs. Yunieski Gonzalez on Dec. 18 on DAZN starting at 9 p.m. ET

The pandemic stalled many of the best-laid plans. Ramirez was forced out of the ring for 20 months but continued his winning ways stringing together three wins. It’s been a while since he has held a world title, but the recognition of being a world champ is omnipresent for Ramirez. He doesn’t need the ornamentation of a belt to be considered a champion.

“No, it’s not a strange feeling [not having a belt] because at the end of the day, I’m still a champion, and that will be always,” declared Ramirez. “I want to get another belt, and I’m so excited for this fight because it is an eliminator fight.”

Ramirez battles former title contender Yunieski Gonzalez at AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX, in a WBA light heavyweight title eliminator. Dmitry Bivol is the current champion, but a win over Gonzalez would place Ramirez at the head of the line to challenge Bivol next.

That’s the fight Gonzalez wants next, but he’s willing to fight any of the three current champions. He wants to conquer a second division, but why not three?

“Well, I think at some point, I want to jump to the cruiserweight division, but right now, I’m focusing to get the title fights and get a unification fight and then eventually move up,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez has his priorities set. Collect the belts at light heavyweight and then takeover cruiserweight when his body tells him it’s time to make another move. That’s far ahead into the future, but it’s already on Ramirez’s mind.

Speaking of cruiserweight, current undisputed super middleweight champion, and Ramirez’s Mexican countryman, Canelo Alvarez has expressed his desire to test the waters at cruiserweight. Could we see Ramirez vs. Alvarez in the future? Why not, says Ramirez.

“Well, yes. I’ve been considering to fight him because people want to see that fight happen,” said Ramirez. “But eventually, if he sustained at light heavyweight, why not? Make it happen.”

These are exciting times for Ramirez, who’s poised for a stellar 2022, but first, he got to defeat Gonzalez. The most destructive light heavyweight could be entering the title picture in short order.