Photos: Gilberto Ramirez Putting in Work For Return

LAS VEGAS, NEV.– Undefeated Mexican knockout artist and No. 1 world-rated super middleweight contender GILBERTO "Zurdo" RAMIREZ will risk his upcoming world title shot in a 10-round World Boxing Organization (WBO) International / North American Boxing Federation (NABF) super middleweight title defense against GEVORG KHATCHIKIAN, of the Netherlands, making his U.S. debut, Friday, November 20, at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Ramirez vs. Khatchikian will be televised live on The MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout on truTV at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank. 

The telecast will open with a 10-round junior lightweight rumble between once-beaten IVAN "Bam Bam" NAJERA of San Antonio and unbeaten SAÚL "Kid Dynamite" RODRÍGUEZ, of Riverside, Calif.. The live boxing series is presented by truTV and Top Rank® and produced in association with HBO Sports®.  Find truTV at: http://trutvishere.com/.                  

These young warriors boast a combined record of 88-2 (55 KOs) – a winning ratio of 98 percent with close to 2/3 of those victories coming by way of knockout.

Ramirez (32-0, 24 KOs), a two-fisted super middleweight wrecking machine who hails from Mazatlan, Mexico, is the top world-rated contender in the WBO and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) rankings and is world-rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the World Boxing Council (WBC). A sensational young contender, Ramirez, 24, has won four of his last six bouts by knockout.

Last year featured his career-best performances which included an NABF and North American Boxing Organization (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. This year he has scored 10-round unanimous decision victories over once-beaten Maxim Vlasov and division gate keeper Derek Edwards, who boasts a KO victory over world champion Badou Jack, on January 24 and June 26, respectively.

Khatchian (22-1, 10 KOs), 27, from Heerlen, Netherlands, has a fighting style that features strong boxing skills and excellent movement. Five of his last six victories have come by way of knockout. The lone blemish on his professional resume is an 11th-round TKO by future world champion James DeGale last year. A strong amateur background, Khatchian produced a 99-11 record, which included a gold medal victory in the 2005 Dutch National Championships.