Gilberto Ramírez facts for kids

Gilberto Ramírez Sánchez, born on June 19, 1991, is a famous Mexican professional boxer. He has won world championships in two different weight classes. Since March 2024, he has been the champion in the cruiserweight division for the World Boxing Association (WBA). Before that, he held the super middleweight title from 2016 to 2019 with the WBO.

Gilberto is the first boxer from Mexico to win a big world title in these weight classes. On November 16, 2024, he became the unified cruiserweight champion by winning the WBO title too. Experts like BoxRec think he is the best active cruiserweight in the world as of April 2024.

Gilberto's Boxing Journey

Starting His Career

Gilberto Ramírez began his professional boxing career in Mexico. In April 2010, he won a fight by knockout (KO) in the second round in Mazatlán.

On December 17, 2010, Gilberto won his first big title. He knocked out Rogelio Medina to become the WBC Youth middleweight champion. This fight took place in his hometown of Mazatlán.

After this, Gilberto moved up to the super middleweight division. He kept winning, often by technical knockout (TKO), which means the referee stops the fight because one boxer can't continue safely. He also successfully defended his WBC Youth title several times.

Fighting in the United States

In August 2013, Gilberto fought in the United States for the first time. He won his fight against Derrick Findley in California. In February 2014, he knocked out Don Mouton in the first round in Texas.

Two months later, Gilberto faced a tough opponent, Giovanni Lorenzo. Gilberto won by TKO in the fifth round. This win earned him two important titles: the NABF and WBO NABO super middleweight titles.

Gilberto also had a fight in Macau, where he won by TKO in the first round. He continued to defend his titles, showing his strength and skill.

Moving Up the Ranks

In January 2015, Gilberto Ramírez had a big fight against Maxim Vlasov. This was his first fight shown on HBO, a major TV channel for boxing. Gilberto won this tough ten-round fight by decision.

He continued to win, defeating Derek Edwards in June 2015. Gilberto won every round on the judges' scorecards, showing his dominance. These wins helped him get closer to a world title fight. By this time, he was ranked among the top boxers by several major boxing organizations.

In November 2015, Gilberto fought Gevorg Khatchikian and won by decision. With this victory, he became the first boxer to successfully defend the NABF super middleweight title four times.

Becoming a World Champion

WBO Super Middleweight Champion

On April 9, 2016, Gilberto Ramírez made history. He fought Arthur Abraham for the WBO super middleweight world title. Gilberto won every round on all three judges' scorecards, becoming the new champion. He was the first Mexican boxer to win a world title in the super middleweight division.

After winning the title, Gilberto was set to defend it against Dominik Britsch. However, he had to pull out of the fight due to a hand injury during training. He had surgery and recovered well.

First Title Defenses

In April 2017, Gilberto made his first title defense against Max Bursak. He won every round, keeping his WBO title. Bursak tried to attack, but Gilberto's footwork helped him avoid punches.

In September 2017, Gilberto faced his mandatory challenger, Jesse Hart. This was a very tough fight. Gilberto knocked Hart down in the second round, but Hart fought back hard. Gilberto won by decision after twelve rounds, keeping his title in a close and exciting match.

In February 2018, Gilberto defended his title against Habib Ahmed. He won by TKO in the sixth round. This was his first knockout win in a long time, showing his power. Gilberto said he wanted to fight other champions to unify the titles.

In June 2018, Gilberto defended his WBO title against Roamer Alexis Angulo. Gilberto won by unanimous decision. Angulo was a tough opponent, but Gilberto managed to avoid his strong punches and win most of the rounds.

Rematch with Jesse Hart

In December 2018, Gilberto had a rematch with Jesse Hart. This fight was also very close and exciting. Gilberto won again by a narrow decision, successfully defending his WBO super middleweight title for the fifth time.

Moving to Light Heavyweight

In February 2019, Gilberto decided to move up to a heavier weight class: Light heavyweight. He wanted to find new challenges and fights there.

First Light Heavyweight Fights

On April 12, 2019, Gilberto made his debut at 175 pounds against Tommy Karpency. Gilberto won when Karpency retired in his corner after the fourth round, saying his ribs were injured.

After some time away from the ring, Gilberto returned in December 2020. He knocked out Alfonso Lopez in the tenth round to win the NABF light heavyweight title.

Challenging for a World Title

On November 5, 2022, Gilberto faced Dmitry Bivol for the WBA Light Heavyweight world title. Gilberto lost this fight by unanimous decision, which was his first professional loss.

Becoming a Cruiserweight Champion

On October 7, 2023, Gilberto moved up another weight class to cruiserweight. He won his debut fight in this division against Joe Smith Jr. by unanimous decision.

Winning the WBA Cruiserweight Title

On March 30, 2024, Gilberto challenged Arsen Goulamirian for the WBA cruiserweight title. Gilberto won the fight by unanimous decision, making him the first boxer from Mexico to win a world title in the cruiserweight division.

Unifying the Cruiserweight Titles

On November 16, 2024, Gilberto Ramírez fought Chris Billam-Smith in Saudi Arabia. Gilberto put his WBA cruiserweight title on the line against Billam-Smith's WBO cruiserweight title. Gilberto won by unanimous decision, becoming the unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion.

Professional Boxing Record

See also

In Spanish: Gilberto Ramírez para niños

• List of southpaw stance boxers
• List of Mexican boxing world champions
• List of world super-middleweight boxing champions
• List of world cruiserweight boxing champions