Photos: Gilberto Ramirez Continues Hard Grind For First Defense

Mt. Baldy, California-- WBO Super middleweight Champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez (34-0) takes his training to new heights as he runs Mt.Baldy in California in preparation for his upcoming bout against Germany's Dominik Britsch (32-2-1) on PPV during the undercard of Terence Crawford versus Viktor Postol at MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas July 23, 2016. Photos by Mikey Williams.

Ramirez will be making the first defense of the championship crown he decisively won from three-time world champion "King" Arthur Abraham in April.  Ramirez will be defending his title against  DOMINIK BRITSCH.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate and the motion picture "Hands of Stone,"  the Terence Crawford - Viktor Postol world championship pay-per-view event will take place on Saturday, July 23, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®  beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.  The Ramirez vs. Britsch world championship bout will be co-promoted by Zapari Boxing Promotions.

Remaining tickets to Crawford vs. Postol are priced at $304, $204, $104, and $54, not including applicable service fees.

Ramirez (34-0, 24 KOs), a two-fisted super middleweight wrecking machine who hails from Mazatlan, Mexico, made history in the co-main event to the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley welterweight pay-per-view on April 9 when he became Mexico's first fighter to win a super middleweight world title.  Entering the fight as the top world-rated contender, Ramirez gave a virtuoso performance over the defending WBO champion Abraham.  All three judges scored it as a 120-108 blitzkrieg.

"I took him to Mexican boxing school," a jubilant Ramirez boasted as he put on the world championship belt .  A sensational young champion, Ramirez, 24, has won four of his last eight bouts by knockout.  Career-highlight performances include an NABF and NABO title victory over Giovanni Lorenzo via fifth-round stoppage, a WBO International title knockout victory over Junior Talipeau and a successful defense of his NABF and WBO International titles, stopping Fulgencio Zuniga in the eighth round, all in 2014.  Last year he successfully defended his titles via unanimous decisions over once-beaten Maxim Vlasov, division gate keeper Derek Edwards, who boasts a KO victory over world champion Badou Jack, and once-beaten Gevorg Khatchikian, who had scored knockouts in five of his last six victories.

Britsch (32-2-1, 11 KOs), of Neckarsulm, Germany, enters this fight riding a four bout winning streak  and having won six of his last seven bouts dating back to 2013.  Known for his body punching prowess and his excellent skills and movement, Britsch's trophy case features the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Intercontinental middleweight and German super middleweight championship belts.  This will be his first fight in the U.S. since 2011.