Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will return to the ring to defend his WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles this weekend, against Yuniel Dorticos as chief support to Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
This fight will have big implications for the future unification of the cruiserweight division – if Ramirez successfully defends his belts, then a massive fight with the IBF and Ring champion Jai Opetaia is surely next.
The two have been circling each other since Ramirez became unified champion against Chris Billam-Smith last year, and both have expressed interest in making the fight.
Opetaia called Ramirez out after handily dispatching Claudio Squeo earlier this month, saying: “Next fight, Zurdo Ramirez. He’s mentioned me, he’s told me he will fight me next after his mandatory. Let’s get it on, I’m chasing that belt, let’s go.”
If this fight is made, it will put the victor on a path to becoming the undisputed champion in a division that has been in flux since the departure of Oleksandr Usyk.
The only man in the four-belt era to bring the cruiserweight division under singular reign is Oleksandr Usyk.
The Ukrainian took 10 fights to acquire his first world title, then swept up the rest of the division in only five fights, beating Krysztof Glowacki, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev.
Usyk defended his undisputed championship once against Tony Bellew, whom he knocked out in the eighth round. He then vacated his titles in search of glory at heavyweight, where he also became undisputed.
Since Usyk handed back his cruiserweight belts, only one man has held two titles simultaneously: Ramirez. Preceding that, the cruiserweight division was fractured and the champions scattered.
To become an undisputed champion, one must possess all four of the major organisations’ (WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF) belts.
At 200lb, the belts are split between three champions: Opetaia, Ramirez and Badou Jack.
Ramirez holds the WBO and WBA titles. He first acquired the WBA belt in March last year, beating Aren Goulamirian to become the first Mexican cruiserweight champion. Chris Billam-Smith was next to the sword, as Ramirez beat the Briton across 12 rounds to take his WBO title.
Opetaia holds the IBF belt, and the Aussie is technically a two-time cruiserweight champion. He first acquired the belt in 2022, beating Mairis Briedis via unanimous decision before getting stripped by the IBF in 2023 and was forced to fight Briedis again to reacquire the vacant strap.
Badou Jack is the WBC champion, meanwhile. The Swede beat Ilunga Makabu in 2023 and was made champion in recess later that year when he wanted to make a move to bridgerweight. He was reinstated as full champion at the end of 2024, taking the belt from Noel Mikaelian, whom he fought in May this year, retaining his title via majority decision.
If a fight between Opetaia and Ramirez is next, Ramirez will first have to defeat Dorticos, which is no easy task. The Cuban is a former IBF champion and has fought some of the best cruiserweights of this era, including Breidis, Gassiev and Mateusz Masternak.
Opetaia has held up his end of the bargain, easily defending his title against Squeo, and has made his intentions clear: he is happy to wait for Ramirez.
There is another roadblock in the form of the WBC, which has ordered an immediate rematch between Jack and Mikaelian after the result of their fight earlier this year was appealed by Mikaelian and his team, who believed he was not given a fair shake on the scorecards.
This makes becoming the undisputed champion a challenge of patience just as much as a challenge of boxing ability. With Opetaia potentially eyeing a move to heavyweight and rumours circulating of Ramirez fighting Jake Paul, both men will be hoping to consolidate the division sooner rather than later.
