Notebook: 'Zurdo' returns against Barrera with future goals depending on victory

New Romero foe on Showtime; Tszyu KOs Spark; more

Light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez has a short-term goal and, of course, a longer range one.

In the immediate future, Ramirez, a former super middleweight world titlist, aims to defeat perennial contender and former world title challenger Sullivan Barrera in their 12-round bout that is the headliner of a Golden Boy Promotions card on Friday (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET) at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

“I always expect the best from my opponents,” Ramirez said. “Barrera is a professional and I know he will be ready when the lights are on. He displayed that he’s a strong fighter when he beat and broke Joe Smith Jr.’s jaw in their bout. A victory for Barrera can resurge his career and alter my path. So, I prepare for the best version of Barrera, and I will not let anything deter my goals.”

Barrera (22-3, 14 KOs), 39, a Cuban defector fighting out of Miami, is 1-2 in his last three fights but has never been an easy out. He is coming off a June 2019 decision loss to Jesse Hart, who Ramirez outpointed twice in 168-pound title defenses, and he also suffered a 12th-round knockout loss challenging Dmitry Bivol for his light heavyweight title with a one-sided rout of Seanie Monaghan in between. Barrera was scheduled to face former light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev in April 2020 but the fight was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In his biggest win, Barrera overcame a first-round knockout to badly broke Smith’s jaw early in their 2017 fight and win a unanimous decision. In April, Smith won a vacant world title.

Ramirez will have to defeat Barrera if he is to get to his longer range goal, which is to land a light heavyweight title shot. There have been discussions between Golden Boy and Bivol’s team about a possible fight later in the year.

“I see every fight as an opportunity,” said Ramirez, who made five super middleweight title defenses before vacating the 168-pound belt to move up to 175 pounds in 2019. “This is my chance to start my path to becoming a two-division world champion. I know this is a tough fight. It will be very difficult for me. He has a lot of experience, and he’s fought against a lot of good fighters. But he’s never faced anyone like me. You will all see the best version of ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez. I’m here to take all of the belts at light heavyweight. I'm here to take the souls of all the warriors at this division.”

The 30-year-old Ramirez (41-0, 27 KOs), a southpaw from Mexico, also said he has interest in challenging unified champion Artur Beterbiev (16-0 (16 KOs) or Smith (27-3, 21 KOs), though those fights are far less likely than one with Bivol (18-0, 11 KOs), who also fights on DAZN.

“That’s what the fans want but I’m not sure if these fighters are ready for me,” Ramirez said. “I wasn’t impressed by any of the three in their recent bouts. They can run as much as they want, but they can’t hide forever. I know I’m the best in the division and, sooner or later, I will be snatching each of the belts and taking their souls one by one.”

Barrera, the underdog, also harbors goals of landing another title shot and is prepared to go through Ramirez, a man he has known for many years, to get it.

“I respect ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez a lot. We have known each other for a long time,” Barrera said. “We have trained together and sparred, but now is the time to put on a great show for all the fans. Everyone knows what I have done in this division. My experience says a lot. I have some loses, but they were against very tough fighters. My experience will be a big factor.

“‘Zurdo’ Ramirez has a lot of skills. He does of things very well. But I have to do everything necessary to win this fight and earn another title shot. A win will help me get that opportunity.”

The fight will be Ramirez’s first since signing with Golden Boy in February.

“I expect an explosive fight. We both will come forward,” Ramirez said. “People like seeing explosive fights, and that’s what we are going to deliver. I am doing everything I can to make sure that I win. I’m happy to be with Golden Boy. I joined them because (owner and CEO) Oscar De La Hoya is my idol. I have been watching him since I was a kid. Also, he is a legend, and that’s what I want to be as well. Together we can make that happen.”

In the co-feature, former junior lightweight titleholders Joseph Diaz Jr. (31-1-1, 15 KOs), 28, of Downey, California, and Javier Fortuna (36-2-1, 25 KOs), 32, of the Dominican Republic, will square off for the vacant WBC interim lightweight belt.

New foe for Romero

Lightweight Austin Dulay suffered a knee injury and has withdrawn from his fight with interim lightweight titlist Rolando “Rolly” Romero, which was scheduled to take place as the co-feature to the Jermell Charlo-Brian Castano undisputed junior middleweight title fight on July 17 (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.

With Dulay out, sources told Fight Freaks Unite that Swedish southpaw Anthony Yigit (24-1-1, 8 KOs), 29, who was already scheduled to be on the card in a non-televised preliminary bout, will move up the card and replace Dulay against Romero. Yigit has won three fights in a row since his lone loss, a seventh-round stoppage due to a severely swollen eye left in a vacant junior welterweight title bout against Ivan Baranchyk in the World Boxing Super Series in October 2018.

Romero (13-0, 11 KOs), 25, of Las Vegas, voiced his displeasure with Dulay’s withdrawal on social media, writing, “I don’t know how anyone could decline a world title shot and more money than they ever made. My opponent had a panic attack and pulled out of the fight. I know I say this often but I found the new biggest bitch in boxing… Austin Dulay.”

Dulay (14-2, 10 KOs), 25, of Nashville, responded: “We had to pull out of the fight due to a knee injury that we got during camp and we didn’t have time to make up for lost time. No one is scared to fight you Rolly. We asked to fight you. We want to fight you. I’ll give you $10k of my fight purse to push back the fight to a later date.”

Tszyu hammers Spark

Junior middleweight contender Tim Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, blew out late replacement and Australian countryman Steve Spark in the third round on Wednesday at Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Newcastle, Australia, in a fight that streamed on ESPN+ in the United States.

Tszyu was supposed to face Michael Zerafa before he pulled out a week before the fight and Spark quickly agreed to fill in.

Spark gave a good effort but was simply outgunned by Tszyu, who knocked him down twice in the third round before referee Brad Vocale stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 22 seconds.

Tszyu (19-0, 15 KOs), 26, who raised swelling under Spark’s right eye early on, dropped Spark (12-2, 11 KOs), 24, with a left hook to the body and then sent him to all fours moments later after landing another crippling left to the body, prompting the stoppage without a count.

Tszyu said afterward he wants to step up his competition and named fighters such as former titlist Liam Smith, (Magomed) Kurbanov and Danny Garcia as being “the three boys I'm going for. If you're watching boys, I'm coming for you.”

Quick hits

The Nevada State Athletic Commission made a major change to its regulations at Wednesday’s meeting, voting that it would, like Florida, no longer discipline combat sports athletes for marijuana use. The policy is not retroactive for pending cases. The commission said it would still test for marijuana for six more months to collect data and then decide whether it will continue. In the past, positive marijuana test results resulted in suspensions and fines of a percentage of their purse.

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Per California State Athletic Commission, official contract purses for Friday night’s Golden Boy card on DAZN: Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez $400k, Sullivan Barrera $100k; Joseph Diaz Jr. $500k, Javier Fortuna $400k; Tenkai Tsunami $10k, Seniesa Estrada $200k; Hector Tanajara Jr. $40k, William Zepeda $15k; Naoka Fujioka $10k, Sulem Urbina $25k; Bryan Chevalier $20k, James Wilkins $20k; Miguel Gaona $2,500, Gilberto Aguilar $1k; Lamont Roach Jr. $60k, Daniel Rosas $15k; Azat Hovhannisyan $75k, Jose Gonzalez $15k, Mihai Nistor $5k, Colby Madison $12k; Starling Castillo $8k, Miguel Contreras $12,500; Gregory Morales $2,500, Rodrigo Guerrero $3,500.

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Weights from Los Angeles for Friday night’s Golden Boy card on DAZN: Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez 174.6 pounds, Sullivan Barrera 174.6; Joseph Diaz Jr. 134.4, Javier Fortuna 134.8 (for vacant WBC interim lightweight title); Tenkai Tsunami 107.2, Seniesa Estrada 108 (for Tsunami’s WBO women’s junior flyweight title); Hector Tanajara Jr. 135, William Zepeda 134.2; Naoka Fujioka 111.8, Sulem Urbina 112 (for Fujioka’s WBA women’s flyweight title); Bryan Chevalier 126, James Wilkins 125.8; Miguel Gaona 135, Gilberto Aguilar 134; Lamont Roach Jr. 130, Daniel Rosas 128.2; Azat Hovhannisyan 122, Jose Gonzalez 121.8; Mihai Nistor 223, Colby Madison 229.6; Starling Castillo 135.6, Miguel Contreras 133.4; Gregory Morales 124, Rodrigo Guerrero 123.6.

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Former light heavyweight world title challenger Anthony Yarde’s fight scheduled for Saturday at Royal Albert Hall in London has been canceled because Germany’s Emin Atra (17-0, 12 KOs) withdrew due to an injury and a suitable replacement could not be found. “The issue was out of my control and I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I will be announcing my new date soon,” Yarde wrote on social media. The 10-rounder was due to be the co-feature of promoter Frank Warren’s card headlined by Lyndon Arthur versus Davide Faraci (15-0, 7 KOs) with the plan being to match Arthur (18-0, 12 KOs), who won a split decision over Yarde (20-2, 19 KOs) in December, and British countryman Yarde in a fall rematch if they both won.

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Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced he has signed Mexican lightweight Angel Fierro (18-1, 14 KOs), 22, who impressed in a short-notice upset sixth-round knockout of former junior lightweight titlist Alberto Machado on March 18 on a Ring City USA card in Machado’s native Puerto Rico. “I am happy with the opportunity to be part of a company like Matchroom,” said Fierro, who is trained by Erik Morales. “I am grateful with the opportunity to represent my country, climb the rankings and prove I am here to stay.” Fierro’s next fight will take place later this summer, probably on one of Matchroom Boxing’s cards in Mexico.

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Former unified cruiserweight world titlist Murat Gassiev has new opponent for his second fight at heavyweight on July 22 at Dynamo Arena on Moscow. Gassiev (27-1, 20 KOs), 27, of Russia, was due to face Erkan Teper in a 10-rounder, but due apparent visa issues related to the coronavirus pandemic Teper (21-3, 13 KOs), 39, is out and has been replaced by fellow German Michael Wallisch (22-4, 15 KOs), 35, who has won two in a row following two stoppage losses in a row to Joe Joyce and Tony Yoka.

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All Star Boxing promoter Tutico Zabala and Telemundo announced the dates for the three-date summer run. “Boxeo Telemundo” will have live cards Aug. 13 at Osceola Heritage Parks Events Center in Kissimmee, Florida; Aug. 20 at the Blackberry Auditorium in Mexico City; and Aug. 27 at the KO Drug Addiction Center in Plant City, Fla. On Sept. 3 there will be a taped show with a recap of the best fights and unseen content from the summer run. Each show begins at 12 a.m. ET.

Show and tell

After Wladimir Klitschko suffered the third stoppage loss of his career — and second in three fights — when he met Lamon Brewster for the vacant WBO heavyweight title in April 2004 many left him for dead. Even big brother Vitali Klitschko suggested that he retire. But Wladimir, a proud man with a big ego, used the loss as motivation that would carry him through the rest of what turned out to be an all-time great, Hall of Fame career. Following that loss, Klitschko wanted to prove everyone wrong who said he was finished and indeed he did. He would go on to win his next 22 fights in a row. During that streak, he won another world title, made 18 title defenses over a decade-long second title reign and unified three of the major belts in one of the great runs in heavyweight history. During that second title reign, Klitschko cleaned up his Brewster mess. In his third title defense, he battered him into a sixth-round knockout loss. The rematch was on July 7, 2007 — 14 years ago on Wednesday. Here is a program, which is published in German like so many Klitschko programs from fights that were in Germany, in my collection.

Ramirez-Barrera photo: Sye Williams/Golden Boy