Gilberto Ramirez vs. Yunieski Gonzalez: date, time, how to watch, background
Gilberto Ramirez will face yunieski gonzalez in what he hopes is his final step toward a title shot.
Gilberto Ramirez (42-0, 28 KOs) vs. Yunieski Gonzalez (21-3, 17 KOs)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 18
Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
TV/Stream: DAZN
Cost: DAZN is $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually
Division: Light heavyweights
At stake: No titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: Ramirez 19½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Seneisa Estrada vs. Maria Santizo, strawweights (for Estrada’s WBA title); Lamont Roach Jr. vs. Rene Alvarado, junior lightweights; Marlen Esparza vs. Anabel Ortiz, flyweights (for Esparza’s WBC title); Luis Hernandez vs. Ruslan Madiyev, junior welterweights
Prediction: Ramirez UD
Background: Ramirez’s career, which had sputtered after he moved up to the light heavyweight in 2019, is back on track. The former super middleweight titleholder stopped Alfonso Lopez in 10 rounds last December – his first fight in 20 months – and then knocked out longtime contender Sullivan Barrera in four rounds this past July to reestablish himself as a major player in the division. The 30-year-old Mexican is ranked in the Top 5 by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, which means his goal of fighting for a title in a second division is within reach. The beltholders are Artur Beterbiev (IBF and WBC), Dmitry Bivol (WBA) and Joe Smith Jr. (WBO). Gonzalez, a Cuban who lives in Florida, cut his teeth in the respected amateur system of his native country. The 36-year-old can box and he has power, as his last 12 victories have come by knockout. He has only been blown out once, when Oleksandr Gvozdyk stopped him in three rounds in April 2017. He took 3½ years off following that setback and returned to stop Guillermo Romero, Alex Theran and Tommy Karpency. He lost close decisions to Jean Pascal and Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in 2015.
