Gilberto Ramirez: record, next fight and profile →
Joe Smith Jr. didn’t expect a move up in weight to produce his first fight in front of a Las Vegas crowd. Fittingly, the stakes are similar for his return to the boxing capital of the world. Smith faces fellow former titleholder Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez this Saturday on DAZN from the Chelsea Ballroom at The
Joe Smith Jr. can envision a fast track to a cruiserweight title. It has to begin with a win this weekend, of course. Assuming that he is able to get past former WBO super middleweight titlist Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, Smith has designs on immediately calling out anyone with a belt at his new weight.
Nearly seven years later, Bernard Hopkins could laugh about the most devastating, embarrassing moment of his Hall-of-Fame career. Hopkins’ longtime promotional partner and friend, Oscar De La Hoya, mentioned that infamous fight because the former
Ramirez, Smith Weights Photos Gallery - Gilberto “Zurdo'' Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) of Mazatlán, Mexico and Joe “Common Man” Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) of Long Island, New York went face to face at the official weigh-in ahead of their WBA cruiserweight eliminator match. (photos by Cris Esquida)
This Friday was far different from the last time Gilberto Ramirez was supposed to weigh in. Six-and-a-half months after he was so overweight that his fight against Gabe Rosado was canceled, Ramirez met his contractual obligation for his bout with Joe Smith Jr. on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Ramirez, a former WBO super middleweight champion, came in at a career-high 191.6 pounds for their 12-round cruiserweight fight.
By Jake Donovan - Joe Smith Jr. figured he would eventually come to grips with the worst loss of his pro career. Everything that happened in the aftermath made that far more difficult than he could ever imagine. The former WBO light heavyweight titlist was left without direction for nearly a year after he his second-round knockout defeat to Artur Beterbiev. Their lineal, WBC, IBF and WBO unification bout last June 18 saw Smith dropped late in round one and stopped one round later in their ESPN-televised headliner from Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City.
Ramirez, Smith Final Press Conference Photos Gallery - Gilberto “Zurdo'' Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) of Mazatlán, Mexico and Joe “Common Man” Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) of Long Island, New York hosted a press conference today ahead of their WBA cruiserweight eliminator match.
Joe Smith Jr. has told his promoter, Joe DeGuardia, that he wanted to try fighting in the cruiserweight division for quite some time. That doesn’t mean, however, that Smith and his team will allow Gilberto Ramirez any “wiggle room” if the former WBO
The upcoming showdown versus Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez is a perfect storm for Joe Smith Jr. A move up to cruiserweight was all but inevitable for the former WBO light heavyweight titlist, who stuck around at 175 to at least exhaust every attainable option. With a title win plus losses to the division’s two clearcut top fighters—lineal, WBC, IBF and WBO champ Artur Beterbiev and WBA titlist Dmitry Bivol—a move up the scale is the logical next move.
By Manouk Akopyan - Gilberto Ramirez will look to rebound and reset his career on Saturday night with he makes his cruiserweight debut against former light heavyweight titlist Joe Smith Jr. The bout will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on DAZN. It will mark the first time Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) will be fighting since suffering a unanimous decision