Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) is back in the ring on Saturday, October 7 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where he faces former light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr (28-4, 22 KOs) of Long Island, New York. The pair meets in the 12-round bout at cruiserweight. The event airs live stream on DAZN.
Ahead of the event, Mexico’s former super middleweight champion “Zurdo” Ramirez held a media workout, showed off his skills and previewed the upcoming bout.
Also partaking in the media workout was super flyweight contender John “Scrappy” Ramirez (12-0, 8 KOs), who faces Panama’s Ronal Batista (15-3, 9 KOs). The pair squares off in the 12-round WBA world title eliminator, serving as the co-feature.
As well, Bektemir Melikuziev (12-1, 9 KOs) of Uzbekistan, who defends his WBA Intercontinental super middleweight title in the 10-round bout against Alantez Fox (28-4-1, 13 KOs) of Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Plus, Daniel Luna (3-0, 3 KOs), who battles Mexico’s Erick Garcia Benitez (4-5, 1 KO) in the four-rounder at super lightweight.
This is what the participants had to say:
Gilberto Zurdo Ramirez
“I am excited for me an my team to return on October 7 in Las Vegas. I am most excited for myself because some of the best shows happen in Vegas.”
“I feel great at cruiserweight, this is typically the weight I’ve walked around my entire life. I feel much stronger in this class and most importantly I feel healthy.”
“Dealing with the Bivol loss was really tough. It hurt my soul and it hurt my ego as a warrior. Now that I have been able to move past it, I want to come back even stronger and I want to win. I want to feel like I can do it.”
“I’ve been watching Joe Smith Jr. for many years now; probably his whole career. He is a great fighter and it’s exciting for me to face him because he is a former world champion, he has faced many former champions and great top opponents.”
John “Scrappy” Ramirez
“This final eliminator is just another fight, something that I have been working for and it has finally came into fruition. It’s all about staying ready so you don’t need to get ready.”
“My path to a world championship is fight to fight, opponent to opponent. Right now, my focus is the man in front of me. He is Panamanian, has tremendous experience, he is hungry, and he is looking for that opportunity to make a statement. So I am not taking him lightly. When the competition is good, I perform better.”
Bektemir Melikuziev
“I feel good after my great win against Gabriel Rosado. I am excited to finally be back. We’re ready for all the big fights in the division. Gabe was a very principal fight for me. I am now in my hunting mode for the world titles.”
“My team have done their homework on my opponent. It doesn’t matter to me who I fight. I know he is very tall for our weight class, he is very awkward, tough, and always in good fights. I am not looking past my opponent, it’s going to be a very interesting fight.
Daniel Luna
“We had a really quick night last month with my second-round knockout, so I just thought why not? My team and I talked about it, and we felt that I was all ready, in-shape, and prepared to come back this month. We just want to stay busy.”
“We don’t focus on the knockouts, we focus on staying busy. If the knockout comes, it comes. I know my opponent is pretty tough and comes to fight, but so do I.”
In the UK and Australia, Zurdo vs Smith airs live on Sunday, October 8.
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