Dmitry Bivol Vs. Zurdo Ramirez: Odds, Records, Prediction

Coming off the biggest win of his career, the victory that changed how the entire boxing world saw him, Dmitry Bivol is not taking an easy fight in his first post-Canelo Alvarez appearance. Instead, Bivol will defend his light heavyweight title on Saturday against a top-notch contender in Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, who longs to make the same kind of career statement that Bivol did six months ago. Here’s everything you need to know about Dmitry Bivol vs. Zurdo Ramirez, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

Ramirez has fought professionally 44 times, and though the 31-year-old certainly has some nice victories against solid opposition and even though he was a world titlist at super middleweight, Bivol is on a different level than anybody he’s ever faced. This isn’t news to Ramirez.

“I can’t wait to prove to everyone and to myself that I can do this,” Ramirez said. “Bivol is a tough guy. He’s a really good challenge. But I am going to avenge the Mexican population since he beat Canelo.”

Ramirez has waited for years to get his shot at a top-notch opponent and the boxing world’s acceptance as the best in his division. On Saturday, he’ll get exactly that against a foe in Bivol who is now a consensus top-10 pound for pound foe (I have him at No. 10).

He reached that distinction by soundly out-boxing Alvarez in May, beating the former No. 1 pound for pound fighter more convincingly than anybody since Floyd Mayweather a decade earlier. If Bivol was unsure of himself before—and I doubt that he was—those days are long. These days, Bivol is probably feeling as confident as he ever has before.

But it also sounds like Bivol’s team is trying to avoid a potential post-Canelo letdown. Even though Ramirez isn’t as skillful as Alvarez, he’s still a dangerous opponent that is physically bigger and with a longer reach than Bivol.

“After the Canelo fight, obviously it’s a second level of motivation they have to find,” Vadim Kornilov, Bivol’s manager, said. “Any fighter that goes to that level, they have to motivate themselves to go on. Having to fight a guy like Ramirez who is very well respected, who has never lost and who has fought some of the top-level guys, it’s something that you have to overcome and it’s something that we have to do. You have to find something inside you to get that victory again. I believe that Dmirty has that mentality.”

But Oscar De La Hoya, Ramirez’s promoter, also sees something in his fighter.

“He wants this so bad, you can see it oozing from out of his eyes,” De La Hoya said. “He’s piercing through everything. He wants that big prize against Bivol.”

Here’s more info on the Dmitry Bivol vs. Zurdo Ramirez showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on DAZN beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Zurdo Ramirez odds

For the man who’s coming off the Alvarez victory, I suppose it makes sense that Bivol is a sizeable favorite, though his money line of -475 (bet $475 to win $100) is a bit too much for me (particularly since it was -400 earlier this week). Ramirez, meanwhile, is a +335 underdog (win $335 on a $100 wager). If you think Ramirez has at least a 23% chance of beating Bivol (and I think he does), a wager on his money line would have value.

If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I might take Bivol to beat Ramirez by decision at -200, Jessica McCaskill to beat Chantelle Cameron at +125 and David Morrell to KO/TKO Aidos Yerbossynuly at -150. That would pay you a profit of $462 on a $100 wager.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Zurdo Ramirez records

Bivol has come a long way from his disappointing, close win against Craig Richards 18 months ago. Since then, he thoroughly dominated Umar Salamov and then had a rather easy time vs. Alvarez. Bivol is now 20-0 (11 KOs), and he also holds victories against Joe Smith Jr., Jean Pascal and Sullivan Barrera.

Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) has solid victories vs. Jesse Hart (twice), Arthur Abraham and Maxim Vlasov. And just like Bivol, Ramirez has a KO victory against Barrera. Bivol stopped Barrera in the 12^th round. Ramirez took him out in the fourth.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Zurdo Ramirez prediction

Ramirez will probably present more danger for Bivol, but he’s such a good technical boxer that I don’t think he’ll let Ramirez’s size and skills bother him. It’s possible Ramirez can hurt Bivol, but on the other hand, he might struggle to land flush shots on his opponent, especially if Bivol uses his lateral movement. I’m not sure this will be a thrilling fight, but I think it’ll be a successful one for Bivol, who will take the decision victory, somewhere in the 116-112 range.