By Keith Idec
Gilberto Ramirez didn’t hesitate Tuesday when asked about the fight he wants most.
The WBO world super middleweight champion wants to box Gennady Golovkin later this year. Mexico’s Ramirez and his promoter, Bob Arum, hope he gets the chance to challenge Golovkin if the Kazakh knockout artist can’t land a highly anticipated fight against another Mexican, Canelo Alvarez.
“Triple-G said he would move up to 168,” Ramirez told BoxingScene.com. “If he wants to fight me, I’ll fight him. People are asking for this fight and I’d be really happy to make it happen.”
Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs), the IBF/WBA/WBC middleweight champion, would have to move up from 160 pounds to 168 to face Ramirez. Golovkin also would have to win two bouts before considering Ramirez in the event Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) won’t fight him.
If Golovkin can defeat Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) in their middleweight title fight March 18 at Madison Square Garden, he is expected to return to the ring June 10 in his native Kazakhstan. Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs), the WBO middleweight champion, is expected to be Golovkin’s opponent in that fight if Golovkin overcomes Jacobs.
“He will knock out Danny Jacobs,” Ramirez said, “because Danny Jacobs has skills and he can punch, but he doesn’t have too much of a chin. That’s why Triple-G will knock him out.”
Ramirez, meanwhile, is schedule to defend his WBO 168-pound title against Ukraine’s Max Bursak (33-4-1, 15 KOs) on April 22 at StubHub Center in Carson, California. If Ramirez beats Bursak, Arum said he’ll likely make a mandatory defense of his title against the WBO’s No. 1 contender, Philadelphia’s Jesse Hart (21-0, 17 KOs), sometime in July.
As for facing Golovkin, Ramirez definitely would expect that to be the most difficult fight of his career, despite his size advantage.
“I would have to use all of the skills I have against him,” Ramirez said. “It’s a really, really tough fight. It would be really interesting for all the people, for all my team, for everybody.”
Ramirez and Arum hope a Golovkin fight takes place because it’s much bigger than anything available against another super middleweight.
“It’s a really good fight for Zurdo,” Arum said, referring to Ramirez’s nickname. “If he wins [against Bursak], we’re hopefully gonna have him fight in July, and then get ready for a Golovkin fight if Golovkin doesn’t get Canelo. That’s what [Golovkin promoter Tom] Loeffler’s talking to me about.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
