By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten former WBO Super Middleweight Champion Gilberto Ramirez of Mexico is back in action this Friday, July 9th when he takes on veteran Sullivan Barrera of Cuba. The 12-round light-heavyweight bout from Los Angeles can be seen in most nations live on DAZN. Ramirez last fought in December when he stopped Alfonso Lopez in the 10th round for the NABF Light-Heavyweight Title. Barrera’s last bout took place in June of 2019 when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Jesse Hart.
The 30-year-old Ramirez became the first Mexican to capture a world super middleweight title when he beat Arthur Abraham via unanimous decision in 2016 for the WBO Belt and he’ll enter the ring with a perfect record of 41-0 with 27 Ko’s. The southpaw stands close to 6-feet-3-inches tall and has a reach of 75 inches. He turned pro back in 2009 and has fought 237 rounds since.
Ramirez possesses pretty good power in his fists and owns a knockout ratio of 66 per cent. He’s is a bit of an oddity for such a tall boxer though since he doesn’t always use his height to his advantage. Ramirez often prefers to work his way inside to engage instead of fighting at a safer distance. After beating Abraham, Ramirez defended his title against Max Bursak and Jesse Hart by unanimous decisions then stopped Habib Ahmed in six rounds.
He then beat Roamer Alexis Angulo by unanimous decision and Jesse Hart by majority decision in a rematch before moving up in weight to face Tommy Karpency and stopped him after four rounds. He then stopped Lopez and is is remaining in the 175 lb division. Overall, Ramirez has gone the distance in eight out of his last 11 bouts.
Some of his other noteworthy opponents have been Derek Edwards, Fulgencio Zuniga, Junior Talipeau, and Derrick Findley. Ramirez has gone undefeated up to now basically because of a combination of power, skills and aggressiveness. He needs to tighten up defensively if he wants to remain unbeaten but has displayed a solid chin up to now. However, he may be more effective if he took better advantage of his height and controlled the distance in his bouts.
The 39-year-old Barrera fights out of Miami and has a record of 22-3 with 14 Kos under his belt. He had a pretty good amateur career and was a two-time bronze medalist at the Cuban national championships in 2002 and 2003. Barrera stands 6-feet-2-inches tall and has a 73-inch reach which gives him a minimal two-inch reach disadvantage to Ramirez.
Barrera turned pro in 2009 and has boxed 146 rounds since then. He’s not known as a heavy hitter due to his superb boxing skills, but has a good current knockout ratio of 56 per cent. He’s been dropped and stopped before and has a somewhat questionable chin. Barrera has a good selection of punches to choose from, has an effective jab and doesn’t mind the infighting either.
His first loss came in March, 2016 when Andre Ward beat him by a 12-round unanimous decision with his second defeat coming at the hands of WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol by 12th-round stoppage in March, 2018. He was then beaten by Hart the last time out. Barrera’s best career wins have been against Felix Valera, Joe Smith Jr, Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, Jeff Lacy and Karo Murat and stopped the latter three. He’s captured the WBC International and WBC USNBC, WBA Fedlatin, and WBO Latino Light Heavyweight Titles since turning pro, but has never won a world title.
Prediction…
Ramirez is looking to keep busy while hoping to land a title shot at one of the light heavyweight champions. He’s not always the most impressive but has never failed to get the job done. Barrera is now in the twilight of his career at the age of 39 and hasn’t fought for two years. I’m expecting ramirez to remain unbeaten on Friday night.
