Gilberto Ramirez reacts to latest WBA ruling

The WBA denied the request of Dmitry Bivol to not fight Gilberto Ramirez next.

This week started as a slow news week, but as we approach the weekend, things are starting to get announced, affecting the fourth quarter schedule. The situation involved the WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (20-0) and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-0). Everyone was under the impression that the fight was being negotiated per the original order, but that wasn’t the case.

Earlier today, the WBA sent out a tweet that shocked those following the statements made by both teams. The announcement on Twitter from the WBA’s account said, “The WBA Championships Committee ratified the mandatory fight between light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and his mandatory challenger Gilberto Ramirez.” That first tweet was a little confusing as everyone knew that Ramirez was the mandatory. Then, the WBA followed up by tweeting, “After receiving a request for special permission to fight Joshua Buatsi from the champion and after an extensive study of the same, the WBA denied such permission, so Bivol and Ramirez will have until August 10 (as originally planned) to reach an agreement, or the fight will go to purse bid.”

So, it looks like Team Bivol was looking for the fight against Buatsi instead of Ramirez, but the WBA made things right by Ramirez and denied the request. With the news circulating about the WBA ruling, Ramirez made time to address the situation. Was he surprised that the WBA had to step in to reinforce the mandatory fight they ordered almost a month ago? Ramirez told FanSided, “I knew he didn’t want to fight me. His team didn’t want me to fight him, and now it’s time to show up. It’s time to put everything on the line (the belt), and I will take it with me.”

Dmitry Bivol will likely face Gilberto Ramirez towards the end of the year.

Ramirez continued, “I hear that they want to fight me, but then they sent me a letter trying to fight Buatsi. It couldn’t happen, so I am so glad for that. I am grateful to Gilberto Jesus Mendoza (President of the WBA) and Golden Boy. I am happy because I will get what I want and have asked for many times. It’s time to become a two-time world champion.”

With the “free negotiations” period ending today, were both teams able to come to an agreement? For this question, Golden Boy Promotions Vice President and Matchmaker Roberto Diaz stepped in and said, “So the deadline for free negotiations ended today. Now they are going to give a few days to finalize negotiations; otherwise, they will call a date for a purse bid. I echo Zurdo’s feelings and want to say thank you to the President (WBA), Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, and the whole board for doing good for boxing and Gilberto (Ramirez). He has earned that right as he is the mandatory and has fought two eliminators.”

Diaz continued, “This is a fight for boxing and the fans. This is a fight where Zurdo can actually bring back the belts to Mexico and avenge that loss Canelo had recently. From day one, stepping into the Golden Boy offices, he said he wanted to work with us but really wanted the Bivol fight. That’s before Bivol had beaten Canelo. This is a fight that has to happen before the end of the year.”

With that being said, Ramirez is extremely confident and feels like he is ready to go right now. “I’m ready. I’ve been ready. The question is if he is ready to fight me,” said the 31-year-old light heavyweight contender from Mazatlan, Mexico. When asked when he would be ready to have this showdown, he mentioned November or December this year. And if Bivol were standing in front of him right now, he wouldn’t talk smack but simply say, “good luck.”

Ramirez is a fan favorite in the Southern California region and knows they have been patiently waiting for their guy to get another title shot. Ramirez has a message for fans who want to see him win in life. “I would like to tell my fans thank you for being so good to me. I am so grateful. They love me, and I love them. I want to give this fight to all the fans, especially my Mexican people and all Latinos. This is a dream come true, and I just want to tell them that if you believe in yourself, you will get anything you want.”