By Francisco Salazar
Being undefeated and headlining cards is one thing. Winning world titles and becoming the best in your division is even better.
Life has been great for Gilberto Ramirez so far. He is unbeaten and has headlined fight cards in the United States and Mexico. He even has the backing of a major promoter in Top Rank.
But there is more to the fight game and even the 24 year old Ramirez understands that. To explain in baseball terms, he can throwing 90 mile-per-hour fastballs, but sooner or later, he has to mix in curve balls and change ups.
That is all right for him. While he is coming off his best win to date as a pro, he is still eager to learn, hoping to become an all-around great fighter.
Ramirez will fight Derek Edwards tonight at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Tex. The 10 round bout will headline a Top Rank card and will be broadcast live on TruTV, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.
It has been five months since Ramirez, a tall super middleweight who is a southpaw (hence the nickname 'Zurdo,' which means southpaw or lefty), defeated Maxim Vlasov by unanimous in the Denver suburb of Broomfield.
It was a competitive bout, but lacked any significant drama during the 10 round bout. A majority of the fans watching on HBO were likely anticipating the third installment of the Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado fight, which occurred after Ramirez-Vlasov.
Boxing writers and insiders did take notice on the Mexican fighter's performance. While Ramirez clearly won, some wondered if Ramirez was still a work-in-progress or that maybe he was not as talented as his 31-0 record suggested.
If Ramirez heard any criticisms about the fight or his skill-set, he may have taken heed for what was said. Ramirez was back inside The Rock Gym in Carson, a suburb of Los Angeles, fine-tuning what needed to be fixed.
Fighting on UniMas and ESPN2 is great, but fighting on HBO or a premium network is better, especially when there is an opportunity to possibly fight for a world title later this year or in 2016.
“We learned a lot from that fight,” Ramirez explained to BoxingScene.com in an interview earlier this month. “We were happy that we won (against Vlasov). We learned from that and corrected the mistakes I made (in that fight). I want to improve my overall game as a fighter. Everything has been better because of that fight.”
“These types of fights I’ve had have given me a lot more confidence. We’ve learned a lot. You never stop learning in boxing. We’re always trying to learn new things. Little by little we are evolving to the fighter I want to become.”
He faces Edwards tonight, a fighter who has had mixed results in recent fights, losing four of his last seven.
Edwards (27-4-1, 14 KOs) lost a one-sided 12 round decision to Andre Dirrell on December 19, but shocked the boxing world almost 10 months prior by stopping Badou Jack in the first round.
These type of fighters could present an interesting challenge to Ramirez. Will Edwards get up and try to pull off the upset early on against Ramirez? Could Edwards mail it in if he finds himself down midway through the fight?
Regardless, Ramirez is ready for any type of fight the Las Vegas resident may bring.
“I expect Edwards to come in at 100 percent and be prepared to fight a war,” said Ramirez, who is ranked in the top five of all four major sanctioning bodies. “We want to give the fights that the boxing fans deserve. I think it’s a great fight for both of us. I believe I’m going to be the one with our hands raised (in victory) because of my preparation (for this fight).”
“This preparation is difficult because of the opponent (Derek Edwards). We are preparing to the best of our ability because we expect a war in this fight.”
Who knows when Ramirez would become a major player in the 168-pound division. He could be a fight or two away from challenging the likes of James DeGale, Badou Jack, George Groves, or Arthur Abraham.
Even a fight against Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. would be interesting. Both Ramirez and Chavez reside in the western Mexican state of Sinaloa, but do not hold your breath as Chavez is advised by Al Haymon and Ramirez is promoted by Top Rank.
“I’d still love a fight with Chavez. His father is my idol. I think it would be an excellent fight. Two Mexican fighters from Sinaloa in the same ring. It would be a fight a lot of fans around the world would want. We hope he (Chavez, Jr.) bounces back from his loss and to give it his all. He still has a future and to give the boxing fans the fights they want to see."
Whatever Ramirez's next move after the Edwards fight remains to be seen. There are a lot of possibilities whom he could face and when that could occur.
Even after the Edwards fight, there could still be detractors or critics of Ramirez. At 24 years of age, Ramirez still has a ceiling he has not reached and has a lot of potential.
Edwards should provide a stern enough test for Ramirez. While a victory would be great, proving fight fans with enough suspense and excitement in attendance and on television will be icing on the cake for Ramirez.
“I’m ready. I feel ready. We are going to demonstrate that on June 26 against Derek Edwards. It’ll be an excellent fight. We’re going to be ready for this type of challenge.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing