Gilberto Ramírez facts for kids

Gilberto Ramírez Sánchez, born on June 19, 1991, is a famous Mexican professional boxer. He is known as the "Golden Southpaw." Gilberto is a unified cruiserweight champion, holding titles from the World Boxing Association (WBA) since March 2024 and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) since November 2024. He has won world titles in two different weight classes. He was the first boxer from Mexico to win a major world title in the super middleweight and cruiserweight divisions.

Gilberto Ramírez's Boxing Journey

Early Fights in Mexico

Gilberto Ramírez started his professional boxing career in Mexico. In April 2010, he won a fight against Jesus Ayala by knockout. In December 2010, he knocked out Rogelio Medina to win the WBC Youth middleweight title. This fight took place in Mazatlán, Mexico.

After this, Ramírez moved up to the super middleweight division. He continued to win, often by technical knockout. He successfully defended his WBC Youth title several times. In February 2013, he signed with a big boxing company called Top Rank.

Fighting in the United States

Ramírez had his first fight in the United States on August 24, 2013. He won against Derrick Findley in California. In February 2014, he knocked out Don Mouton in Texas. Mouton had never been stopped in his career before.

Two months later, Ramírez fought Giovanni Lorenzo. He won by technical knockout and earned two new titles: the NABF and NABO super middleweight titles. He then fought in Macau, winning another title, the WBO Inter-Continental super middleweight title. In November 2014, he defended his titles in Texas against Fulgencio Zúñiga.

Moving Up the Ranks

In January 2015, Ramírez faced Maxim Vlasov in Colorado. This was his first fight shown on HBO. Ramírez won the ten-round fight by decision. He continued to win, beating Derek Edwards in June 2015. He won every round on the judges' scorecards.

In November 2015, Ramírez fought Gevorg Khatchikian in Las Vegas. He won by decision again, defending his NABF super middleweight title for the fourth time. This showed he was ready for a world title fight.

Becoming a World Champion

Winning the WBO Super Middleweight Title

On April 9, 2016, Gilberto Ramírez fought Arthur Abraham for the WBO super middleweight title. The fight was in Las Vegas. Ramírez made history by becoming the first Mexican boxer to win a super middleweight world title. He won every round on all three judges' scorecards. He showed great skill and movement in the ring.

After this big win, Ramírez was set to defend his title against Dominik Britsch. However, he got a hand injury during training in July 2016. This meant he had to take a break from fighting.

Defending His Title

Ramírez returned to the ring on April 22, 2017, defending his WBO title against Max Bursak. He won every round, showing he was still a strong champion. Bursak was penalized for holding too much.

Next, Ramírez faced his mandatory challenger, Jesse Hart, on September 22, 2017. This was a tough fight in Arizona. Ramírez knocked Hart down in the second round. Hart fought back hard, especially in the later rounds. Ramírez won by a close decision, keeping his title. He dedicated the win to the people of Mexico.

On February 3, 2018, Ramírez defended his title against Habib Ahmed. He won by technical knockout in the sixth round. This was his first stoppage win in a while. He said he wanted to fight other champions to unify the division.

In June 2018, Ramírez fought Roamer Alexis Angulo. He won by unanimous decision, but it was a challenging fight. Angulo landed some hard punches, but Ramírez managed to avoid them. Ramírez wanted to keep working hard to become a top boxer.

Rematch with Jesse Hart

In December 2018, Ramírez had a rematch with Jesse Hart. This fight was also very close. Ramírez won by a majority decision, meaning two judges scored it for him and one judge scored it a draw. This was another tough defense of his WBO super middleweight title.

Moving to Light Heavyweight

In February 2019, Ramírez decided to move up to the light heavyweight division. He wanted to find new challenges and fights.

First Fight at Light Heavyweight

On April 12, 2019, Ramírez made his debut at 175 pounds against Tommy Karpency. Ramírez won when Karpency retired in his corner after the fourth round. Karpency later said he had broken ribs.

After some disagreements, Ramírez became a free agent in July 2020.

Winning the NABF Light Heavyweight Title

On December 18, 2020, Ramírez knocked out Alfonso Lopez in the tenth round. This win earned him the NABF light heavyweight title. It was his first fight in 20 months.

Challenging for a World Title

In July 2022, the WBA ordered Dmitry Bivol to defend his light heavyweight title against Ramírez. The fight was set for November 5, 2022, in the United Arab Emirates. Ramírez was confident he could win.

Bivol successfully defended his WBA title, defeating Ramírez by unanimous decision. Bivol used his speed and combinations to control the fight. The judges scored the fight clearly for Bivol.

Becoming a Cruiserweight Champion

Cruiserweight Debut

On October 7, 2023, Gilberto Ramírez made his debut in the cruiserweight division. He fought against former WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. in Las Vegas. Ramírez won the fight by unanimous decision.

Winning the WBA Cruiserweight Title

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

Unified WBA and WBO Cruiserweight Champion

Unifying the Titles

On November 16, 2024, Ramírez put his WBA cruiserweight title on the line against WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith. This big unification fight happened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ramírez won by unanimous decision, becoming the unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion.

Defending Unified Titles

Ramírez defended his unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles against former IBF champion Yuniel Dorticos on June 28, 2025. The fight was in Anaheim, California. Ramírez won the fight by unanimous decision. After the fight, on July 19, Ramírez had successful shoulder surgery.

Negotiations are expected to begin for a possible fight between Ramírez and Jai Opetaia to unify the cruiserweight division even further.

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