Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez, 30-0 24 KO is on his way to becoming the next big star in the super middleweight division. On Saturday night from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, he continued his rise with an eighth round TKO over hard punching Columbian Fulgencio Zuniga 27-10-1 24 KO.
Through the first seven rounds, Ramirez, battered Zuniga with constant pressure landing hard jabs, hooks, crosses, body shots, uppercuts and just about anything else he wanted. In the eighth, Ramirez stunned Zuniga with a chopping right hand and followed it up with a straight left/right combination, right uppercut and left hook, as Zuniga wobbled into the ropes. Ramirez jumped on the Colombian landing a six punch combination while Zuniga tried his best to avoid the onslaught even landing a solid right hand but it wasn’t enough to stop Ramirez causing the referee to jump in and stop the fight at 2:20 of the eighth. According to CompuBox, Ramirez outlanded Zuniga in total punches, 259 to 67, jabs 57-8, and power shots 202-59.
This was a nice win for Ramirez who has been sustaining impressive performances. In his last fight, he knocked out Junior Talipeau in the first round with one of the nicest long range uppercuts you will see. Prior to that, he stopped Giovanni Lorenzo who had only been stopped once in his previous 39 fights and in this one he dominated a tough fighter who hadn’t been stopped since 2009 when he was knocked out in four by Lucian Bute.
Ramirez, 40-6 as an amateur and nicknamed “Zurdo” due to his southpaw stance, is a tall (6’3) and solidly built fighter who throws hard punches from all angles, uses his jab well (77″ reach), commits to the body, and is an excellent counter puncher. With his frame and physical ability, he evokes shades of a young Tommy Hearns. His toughness can be traced to the mean streets of Mexico as Ramirez stated, “I started boxing when I was 12 years old. I used to fight a lot in the streets. The neighborhood where I used to live was like a ghetto, a very dangerous neighborhood”
If there was an area for critique, it would be in Ramirez’s tendency to fight “small” at times which has left him open for counter overhand rights which his opponents have been able to land from time to time. Although he has displayed a solid beard he would benefit by tightening up his defense a bit more. He is still developing and his camp will surely identify and correct these areas which will make him that much tougher to deal with.
After the fight, Ramirez indicated that he would welcome a clash with either Carl Froch or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Top Rank has a potential Mexican megastar on their hands. With his fan friendly style, Ramirez may one day rival Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as Mexico’s darling. Ramirez, currently ranked in the top five by all sanctioning bodies is definitely on the list of who to watch in 2015 which could very well be his breakout year.
This article contributed to Behind The Gloves.com
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