Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) looked like gold, dethroning previously undefeated WBA champion Arsen Goulamirian (27-1, 18 KOs) in winning a 12 round unanimous decision to become the new champ on Saturday night at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.
The former WBO super middleweight champion Zurdo Ramirez looked like he was on another level than the 36-year-old Goulamirian, outboxing him from round one and using movement to avoid his shots in the early going.
The scores were 118-110, 118-110, and 118-110.
As the rounds progressed, Ramirez, 32, grew more confident in standing his ground, and he worked over Goulamirian on the inside with uppercuts and hooks. The champion Goulamirian frequently held and looked up at the clock, showing signs of fatigue during the rounds.
The pace that Ramirez had set gave Goulamirian fits, as he wasn’t accustomed to fighting like that. Of course, the two years of inactivity and the advanced age of Goulamirian didn’t help.
Taking this kind of fight after two years out of the ring wasn’t the wisest thing for him to do, especially at his age. Goulamirian looked older than his chronological age of 36 and wasn’t ready for a young, energetic fighter with the kind of experience against quality opposition that Ramirez had going for him.
Goulamirian looked gunshy and unable to let his hands go for fear of being countered by Ramirez. He also seemed worried about gassing out. When Goulamirian did put his punches together, it was frequently near the end of the round, which was a signal that he didn’t have the cardio to let his hands go during the early or middle part of the rounds.