Oscar De La Hoya Says Ramirez Faces a Must-Win Bout with Smith
Oscar De La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, firmly believes that his fighter Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-1, 30KO) faces a must-win situation against Joe “Common Man” Smith Jr. (28-4, 22KO) in a cruiserweight clash on October 7.
Zurdo is a former WBO world super middleweight champion. After enduring his first defeat by WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, he has struggled to make a comeback. The Mexican’s commitment to continuing his career was called into question when he significantly exceeded the weight limit for his bout with Gabriel Rosado.
IT’S MAKE OR BREAK TIME FOR BOTH FIGHTERS
With his showdown against former WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. looming, De La Hoya has characterized it as a do-or-die fight.
“He had a lot of contemplating to do and had to think about his career. But I believe that now he’s back, and Joe Smith is no pushover . . . I call it a do-or-die fight. I think that whoever wins obviously moves on and hopefully makes a statement in the new division.”
“The loser will go back to the drawing board and seriously consider their career.”
Smith has not set foot in the ring since losing the title to unified champion Artur Beterbiev in June 2022. With four losses on his record, another defeat could knock Common Man out of the rankings.
While Ramirez has only suffered one loss on his record, he could mentally unravel if he endures another defeat. He took the Bivol loss hard. The sport is filled with fighters who have never recovered from that first devastating defeat.
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