S&C Coach Taylor Ramsdell gets Dmitry Bivol ready for ‘Zurdo’

S&C Coach Taylor Ramsdell gives a peek into the preparation of Dmitry Bivol as he faces Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez on Saturday.

Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN are hosting an intriguing light heavyweight clash live from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi this Saturday. WBA champ Dmitry Bivol (20-0) will be defending his title against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (44-0) in a fight that could determine who faces unified champ Artur Beterbiev at some point in the near future.

With so much at stake, preparing for this fight is at the top of the list of the most important things for the Russian Bivol, and the person in charge of his Strength & Conditioning is Taylor Ramsdell. While being a trainer since 2003, it wasn’t until the spring of 2017 that Ramsdell hooked up with Bivol. They’ve been working together ever since, and the toughest test to date came in May against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the biggest name in the sport.

While getting Bivol prepared for Canelo, I checked in with him, and during that conversation, his confidence was oozing out of his pores. He was confident that his guy Bivol would upset Canelo and that it wouldn’t be a tough fight. It sure wasn’t so speaking to Ramsdell now, there was curiosity on why the confidence level was so high for that fight.

Ramsdell told FanSided, “Belief in ourselves. Seeing the competition and knowing what the team and Bivol are capable of. He is a living legend. It was the opportunity to fight Canelo, which led to everyone seeing Dmitry Bivol and seeing what he could do. It was a huge opportunity to get more eyes on him. Going into it, I knew we would win. This isn’t a false grandiosity. This is just full confidence. The only option that I saw was Dmitry winning. If he did his job, he would win. As long he does that, I have no doubt whatsoever that he will continue to win.”

Dmitry Bivol vs. Gilbert ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez will be streaming live this Saturday on DAZN.

After riding high off the Canelo fight, Ramsdell was home for a short period until he received the call that it was time to get the WBA champ Bivol ready for his next fight against Ramirez. But just like anything else, plans are fluid, and after some changes, the training camp began in Kyrgyzstan. After about three weeks there, the team considered returning to Indio, CA, where their last camp was held but decided to do a month in Russia. Finally, the last month was held in Abu Dhabi, where the fight will be hosted on Saturday night.

With all that moving around in locations that weren’t familiar to Ramsdell, were there any challenges as a Strength and Conditioning coach? “The only challenge is creating what he needs to continue to progress. For example, when I went to Kyrgyzstan, I didn’t know what gym would be there. I bring some resistant bands everywhere I go, but it doesn’t matter what we have or don’t have; we get the work done. But of course, if there are more toys in the gym, I like to use them (laughs). As long as we show and are willing to give a 100%, me as the coach and him as the athlete, it doesn’t matter what we have or don’t have.”

Ramsdell also ensures that Bivol is eating all the right things to fuel the body with the necessary nutrients to get him through those grueling workouts. Is Ramsdell worried about Bivol’s diet at all? “With Dmitry, he generally eats pretty healthy. He is a smaller light heavyweight, so he doesn’t do that much of a weight cut at all. As we get closer to the fight, he will eat less sweets (laughs) and eat smaller. The training is also adjusted in order to help with the weight. It’s not a big concern of ours.” That’s good to hear, so we shouldn’t expect a scale fail from Bivol come Friday afternoon.

While in foreign countries, there is always a concern about how you are received, especially when you are with an athlete from a different country. Ramsdell gushed about how he and the team have been received in all those places they held their camp. In Abu Dhabi, Ramsdell said that the welcoming has been real and that everything there has been so great.

With all that being said, what should we expect when his guy Bivol steps into the ring with ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez? Ramsdell told FanSided, “A great fight and great performance. Every time he steps in the ring, it’s another step toward being an all-time great. Yea, it’s a challenge. Respect to Ramirez, he’s 44-0, the champ, and a bigger guy. He has good combinations and good power. I just firmly believe that Bivol is better all around. I just see him (Bivol) with his hand raised.”