By Ryan Burton
Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez (39-0) successfully defending his WBO super middleweight title for the 5th time on December 14th when he won a majority decision over Jesse Hart. The fight was streamed live on the ESPN+ app.
The 27-year-old Sinaloa, Mexico native stands nearly 6'3" tall and has struggled to make weight the past few fights. He will be moving up to 175 pounds sooner than later but his trainer Hector Zapari said that he is willing to stay for one more fight if the right clash can be made.
"We have heard rumors that (Gennady) Golovkin might want be coming to ESPN and if he wants to move up to 168 that is the type of fight that would motivate Zurdo to stay at 168 for one more fight. I think that would be a great fight for all of the fans," said Zapari.
Golovkin and Ramirez trained together years ago in Big Bear, California and Ramirez believes that is the perfect fight to help motivate Ramirez to make 168 pounds one more time. The weight has been tough for him to make and Zapari doesn't want him to develop any bad habits.
"We don't want Zurdo to get comfortable and complacent at 168 waiting for an opportunity for a big fight while struggling to make weight because of a lack of motivation. We would rather have him move up to 175 and remain active with better opportunities if a big fight can't be made at 168," Zapari told BoxingScene.com.
Zapari said that they are enjoying the holidays right now but plan on speaking to their promoter in early 2019 to map out the plan for their fighter.
"We are waiting to speak to Bob Arum again after New Years and see what is next for Gilberto. We want to get the biggest fight possible for him," Zapari stated.
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