Gilberto Ramirez on The Brink of Title Shot

By Steve Kim

If you haven't noticed, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is no longer the apple of Bob Arum's eye. The wayward Chavez, who has been on the sidelines since March, has been unable to come to terms with Top Rank on a fight since his rematch with Bryan Vera, and has also signed with adviser Al Haymon, which means that if this was a marriage, these two parties aren't just sleeping in separate rooms, but Junior has called an attorney and filed for divorce.

And with that, Arum's newest love affair is with Gilberto Ramirez, who faces Fulgencio Zuniga this weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio in an HBO Latino main event.

"I think that he certainly has the skills of Julio, probably more, and without the baggage," notes the veteran promoter. And yeah, the son of “The Lion of Culiacan” has more baggage than LAX and LaGuardia Airport combined, so for Arum, the best part of dealing with Ramirez is the fact that this 23-year-old from Sinaloa, Mexico is, for now, just a hard-working young fighter.

In many respects, he is the antithesis of the pampered and entitled Chavez Jr., who was enabled to no end for years by Top Rank, which ended up creating a monster that they ultimately couldn't corral.

"You have to work hard for what you’ve got, and I work hard for what I got; I don't want to say anything about anybody else,'' Ramirez said through Top Rank publicist Ricardo Jimenez a couple weeks ago, before his day’s workout at the Rock in Carson, California. "I just focus on me and what I can do and I think I've worked very hard to get where I'm at.

"I want to give the fans a great showing every time I fight and that's what I'm about."

Recently, Arum has talked up the possibility of matching Ramirez with Chavez Jr., and while it has to be noted that the veteran promoter is very adept at antagonizing those he is in conflict with, this all-Mexican super middleweight tilt would be one that would generate plenty of interest.

Of this possible matchup, Ramirez says, "Obviously it's up to him, but I want to fight him. I'm ready to fight him, but he's going to decide if he wants to fight me or not. It's his decision all the way."

Ramirez is certainly a realist, and he understands that for as bright a future as he has, it's still Chavez Jr. that is the marquee attraction and the one that would be calling the shots.

Currently, Ramirez has an unblemished mark of 29-0 (23 KOs) and is rated in the top five by all four of the major sanctioning bodies. Needless to say, he feels he's prepared to go belt hunting.

"Obviously I'm ready. I think I'm ready to fight any champion out there. But first things first. I have an opportunity here on November 15th to show people what I can do and it's a very important fight for me for where I want to go."

Despite his gaudy record and his recent string of strong outings, he is still a bit of an unknown commodity. While he's handled the trio of Don Mouton (TKO1), Giovanni Lorenzo (TKO5) and Junior Talipeau (TKO1) in impressive fashion, the reality is that he was supposed to dispatch them (although halting the rugged Mouton so early is eye-opening). His manager Hector Zapari stated, "He's getting better every fight since we came here to the United States for training camps, and his natural talent is exploding. So I believe every time that he's going to be much, much better."

Top Rank is as good as anyone at developing and nurturing young prospects, and they believe in Ramirez that they have a valuable commodity. He may not be the scion of a boxing legend like Chavez Jr., but Ramirez stands out with his handsome features and his statuesque build. You don't see a lot of boxers from south of the border who are built like him, and he says of his height, "My father and my grandfather were both real tall like me." So there's no doubting his upside.

Arum is unsurprisingly effusive in his praise of Ramirez.

"I think he can be the best super middleweight out there. I think he can be a huge pay-per-view attraction. I look at him as one of our future superstars."

Well, okay, a guy by the name of Andre Ward - who's currently on a self-imposed hiatus from boxing - may scoff at the notion, but perhaps, very soon, Ramirez will be able to compete with the likes of Anthony Dirrell or Arthur Abraham, who currently hold the WBO and WBC titles, respectively.

Ramirez makes it clear: "I'd like to win a championship in that division."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.