All of Saturday’s non-heavyweight finalists made full use of the travel weight allowance to hit the mark at the scale.
Everyone was within weight for the final round of the WBC Grand Prix tournament. Gold medal showdowns will take place at featherweight, junior welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight this Saturday from Boulevard City Global Theater in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Heavyweight finals (no limit): Kevin Ramirez vs Ahmed Krnjic
Heavyweights Kevin Ramirez, 11-0-2 (4 KOs), and Ahmed Krnjic, 7-0 (4 KOs), were the only two of the eight remaining entrants who didn’t have to worry about a weight limit. However, their matchup features by far the greatest weight disparity.
Bosnia’s Krnjic weighed 269.3lbs – his second-lightest in his five fights in the groundbreaking tournament. An unbeaten 28-year-old southpaw, Krnjic is still nearly 70 pounds heavier than Argentina’s Ramirez, a career cruiserweight who weighed 201.7lbs.
Ramirez has weighed significantly less than his four previous opponents and has provided one of the better storylines with his success in the tournament.
He advanced to the semifinals via tiebreaker after fighting unbeaten Piotr Lacz to a draw. Two months later, Ramirez rode an opening-round knockdown of Dante Stone all the way to the finish line in a split decision on October 19 at this very venue.
Krnjic had just one year and three fights worth of pro experience at the start of this series. He has since claimed two knockouts and a pair of six-round decision wins to make it to this point.
Middleweight finals (162.5lbs limit): Derek Pomerleau vs Dylan Biggs
Canada’s Derek Pomerleau, 15-0 (11 KOs), was 162.3lbs – more than 2lbs over the traditional middleweight limit. However, he was within the WBC’s 2.5lbs weight allowance afforded the middleweight bracket “considering the demands of travel and preparation.”
Australia’s Dylan Biggs, 17-1 (9 KOs), weighed 161.9 lbs, his second-highest heavyweight weight of the tournament. He has gone the distance in each of his four tournament wins.
The winner of this bout will have claimed six victories in 2025 and will emerge as a strong candidate for Prospect of the Year.
Junior welterweight finals (142lbs limit): Carlos Utria vs Mujibillo Tursunov
Like the middleweights, Mujibillo Tursunov, 9-0 (2 KOs), will also be seeking his sixth win of the year. The unbeaten Uzbek weighed 140.8lbs, well under the tournament limit for this bracket. He has gone the distance in each of his four victories in Riyadh.
Carlos Utria, 13-0 (11 KOs), was 141.7 lbs. The undefeated Colombian went the distance for the first time with his victory in June and again in August before he resumed his knockout ways with a first-round stoppage of South Africa’s Ntethelelo Nkosi on October 19.
Featherweight finals (128lbs limit): Brandon Mejia Mosqueda vs Muhamet Qamili
The only matchup pitting both sides coming off knockout victories. Fittingly, both boxers were the same weight – 127.8lbs – for Saturday’s showdown.
Mexico’s Brandon Mejia Mosqueda, 12-0 (10 KOs), entered the tournament bouncing between junior featherweight and featherweight. In fact, he was just 123.5lbs for his Round of 32 knockout win over Bishara Sabbar in April. The 21-year-old Mosqueda was then extended six rounds in his next two victories before he iced South Africa’s Bekizizwe Maitse in their October 19 semifinal.
Muhamet Qamili, 17-0-1 (8 KOs), a 25-year-old Albanian southpaw based in Italy, earned six-round victories in April, June and August – the latter via tiebreaker. He then enjoyed his first early night of the tournament in his previous outing via first-round knockout of Yoni Valverde.
Qamili is the lone finalist who will have faced unbeaten opponents in all five bouts come opening bell.
Saturday’s show will air live on DAZN beginning at 10 a.m. ET/6 p.m. local time.
