Gabriel Rosado will be looking to snap his three-fight losing streak when he moves up to 175 to face former WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez in the main event in a 12 round fight on DAZN on March 18th at a venue still to be determined. The event begins at 8:00 ET.
Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs) will be giving away size & power against the huge cruiserweight-sized ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez in this fight, and he’ll need to figure out how to overcome the massive size advantage of the 6’3″ Gilberto, who will likely be 200+ lbs in the fight after he rehydrates.
Other than for money purposes, it’s unclear why Golden Boy has chosen to match Rosado against Ramirez because he’s going to be at a disadvantage in this fight in the size department.
Ideally, the 31-year-old Ramirez should be fighting cruiserweights because he’s too big for the light heavyweight division. Putting him in with a small super middleweight like Rosado doesn’t make sense, and it’s not exactly sporting.
The fight is called a crossroads fight by Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya, and it’s surely that. ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) looked totally lost last November, losing by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in their headliner in Abu Dhabi.
Bivol didn’t even have to get out of first gear to dominate a very basic Ramirez, who looked slow, unskilled, and out of his league in the fight. In terms of size, Ramirez resembled a cruiserweight, but not a good one.
Interestingly, Ramirez has chosen to stay at 175 after that fight because it would seem painfully obvious that he needs to move up to cruiserweight because he’s being forced to take off so much water weight to get down to the light heavyweight limit.
“This is a dangerous crossroads fight featuring the explosive Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry,” said De La Hoya. “Zurdo will attempt to make a comeback statement against the certified dream spoiler Gabe Rosado who has derailed the careers of various top fighters.”
Rosado’s last win came two years ago when he pulled off a massive upset, stopping unbeaten super middleweight prospect Bektemir Melikuziev in the third round. Since that win, Rosado has lost three in a row to Ali Akhmedov, Shane Mosley Jr, and Jaime Munguia.
“This is the kind of fight Gabriel Rosado shows up for! I will not let myself or the fans down. Thank you to Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN for the opportunity,” said Rosado.
If Rosado defeats Ramirez, it might be a good idea for Zurdo to start thinking about retiring because if he can’t win at this level, he’s got nowhere to go. If Ramirez moves up to cruiserweight, he’ll be food for fighters like Lawrence Okolie, Richard Riakporhe, and Jai Opetaia.