Zurdo: ‘I expect the very best Dmitry Bivol for this fight’

With a fired up Mexican band setting up a festive tone, media and boxing fans alike rallied together for a special Los Angeles media workout event hosted by undefeated, former WBO Super Middleweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) at Brickhouse Boxing Club.

Ramirez discussed his upcoming 12-round championship fight against Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) for the WBA Light Heavyweight World Title on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The fight will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.

Here is what Ramirez and Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya had to say:

Ramirez:

Photo: Golden Boy Promotions

“Camp has been going very well. I am happy to be here, I am happy to be doing this. Man, this is just exciting.

“I am taking back the belt on November 5! I am very proud to not only represent Mazatlán, Sinaloa, but all of Mexico and all Latinos. I can’t wait to prove to everyone and to myself that I can do this. Bivol is a tough guy. He’s a really good challenge. But, I am going to avenge the Mexican population since he beat Canelo.

“When I heard the fight would be in Abu Dhabi, I thought ‘Wow, that’s cool – I have never been there before.’ After the press conference, I was blown away and I am even more excited to fight there.

“I expect the very best Dmitry Bivol for this fight. I expect this to be an exciting fight. It will be a war.”

De La Hoya:

Photo: Golden Boy Promotions

“This fight was forced on Bivol. Zurdo always wanted to fight for the world title, he wanted to fight the very best. We did our job as a promoter to make this fight happen. We forced this fight to happen through the WBA, through the rankings.

“We established Zurdo as the number one contender. He’s fought back-to-back eliminators, so he deserved this shot. We did a very good job in positioning Zurdo, and now it’s Zurdo’s job to bring the belt back.

“The fact that he [Zurdo] has that killer instinct, and that he wants this so bad, you can see it oozing from out of his eyes. He’s piercing through everything. He wants that big prize against Bivol. Zurdo is calm, cool, and collected – and that’s what you want from a fighter stepping up in competition against someone like Bivol.”