WBA Cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez got the boxing world talking when a few days ago he expressed his desire to fight Oleksandr Usyk. While Zurdo is set to face the WBO Cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith on November 16 for the cruiserweight unification bout, he is already looking past it.

In an interview with Seconds Out, the 46-1 boxer stated, “I have been watching him and following him a lot and that’s one of my goals, to be undisputed at cruiserweight, then heavyweight, and I’d probably meet him at heavyweight.” The challenge has surely intrigued the boxing world, resulting in outrage amongst the fanbase with his promoter Oscar De La Hoya excited about the fight as well.

Oscar De La Hoya Teases Unlikely Showdown

While sitting at a round table interview with DAZN, The GoldenBoy Promotions head honcho expressed his excitement about the potential fight. He talked about how the unification of titles is a rarity in today’s world, but that is not the exciting factor for this fight. He is excited because “Zurdo is talking about Usyk” and that has opened up lots of possibilities.

De La Hoya further stated, “Usyk coming back down to cruiserweight, that’s pretty exciting.” Considering how the Simferopol native cleared the cruiserweight division to become the undisputed champion in 2018, his return would be pretty exciting for everyone. But it does not look like Usyk would make a return to the cruiserweight division as he has not yet hinted at a move back down.

Rather, ‘The Cat’ has made his intentions clear of staying at heavyweight and waiting for big matches. So, as Zurdo stated, he would have to be the one to buff up and meet the unified champion at heavyweight, which can be an exciting fight. But fans have dismissed the fight entirely and have predicted a very one-sided domination for Oleksandr Usyk if these two would ever meet.

Oleksandr Usyk, the heavy favorite

On DAZN’s Instagram clip, captioned: “Who would win this matchup?! @usykaa or @zurdoramirez⁉️”, a user quickly commented, “Usyk would do bro so dirty let’s not even play with this.” They predicted that the unified heavyweight champion would absolutely dominate Zurdo and there is not even a point in discussing this match-up. 

Another user who was not a fan of this matchup wrote, “Like asking who would win between a lump of butter and a T rex 😂.” According to this fan, the comparison between these two was baffling as Usyk is far superior to Zurdo and has proven it at the top level again and again.

An Usyk fan wrote, “Zurdo got comprehensively beaten by light heavy Bivol. That’s insulting to the Undisputed Heavyweight Champ 🤣😂,” talking about how Zurdo fared the last time he moved up a weight division. The Mazatlan native faced Dmitry Bivol on November 5, 2022, for Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title. Bivol won the fight via a unanimous decision and completely outclassed Zurdo to retain his title, giving the latter his first and only career defeat. The fan was clear that if the 46-1 boxer can’t even defeat Bivol, he has no chance against Oleksandr Usyk.

A user suggested a different match that would attract a lot more eyeballs. They wrote, “Beterbiev vs usyk at cruiserweight is where it’s at 🔥.” Artur Beterbiev currently holds all four belts in the light heavyweight division and there have been speculations of him moving up for the right fight. So, if Usyk comes back to his roots and Beterbiev moves one division up, this fight between two undisputed champions would definitely be a show-stealer. 

One user was not happy with the fact that experts are already considering Zurdo vs Usyk and are forgetting about an obvious fight in the cruiserweight division. “I hate the fact that we overlook unification fights to let fighters chase fights they have no business in. We all know that Jai Opetai is the best cruiserweight in the world. The fact that we are skipping over that unification is insane 💯,” wrote the fan angrily.

Jai Opetaia currently holds the IBF cruiserweight title and if Ramirez wins his upcoming fight against Chris Billam-Smith, he will become the unified cruiserweight champion. So a fight between him and Opetaia for the title unification makes more sense than Zurdo chasing Oleksandr Usyk, which might never happen.

Only time will tell whether the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Gilberto Ramirez will take place or not. But the Mexican has surely stirred up excitement in the boxing world with the unlikely challenge.

What do you think about this potential clash? Do you think Oleksandr Usyk will accept a fight against Zurdo? Let us know your thoughts down below.