Gilberto Ramírez Sánchez (born 19 June 1991) is a Mexican professional boxer who is a two division world champion.
[4] In April 2010, Ramírez beat veteran Jesus Ayala by second-round knockout (KO) in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
[5] On 17 December 2010, Ramírez knocked out the undefeated Rogelio Medina to win the vacant WBC Youth middleweight title.
He successfully defended the title beating Oney Valdez, Amilcar Edgardo Funes Melian and Samuel Miller all inside the distance.
[14] Two months later, Ramírez fought at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino against his most credible opponent to date, 33 year old Giovanni Lorenzo (33–6, 25 KOs).
[18] He defeated Junior Talipeau (20–2–1, 7 KOs) via first-round TKO, after knocking him down three times, in the process winning the vacant WBO Inter-Continental super middleweight title.
[19] Ramírez was back in US in November 2014 at the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, this time beating Fulgencio Zúñiga via eighth-round TKO to retain the titles.
On 18 December 2014 Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman announced that Ramírez would take on his toughest challenge to date on the undercard of Alvarado-Rios at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, against Russian boxer Maxim Vlasov (30–1, 15 KOs) on 24 January 2015.
[25][26][27] On 18 April, it was announced that Ramírez would return to the ring on 12 June against 35 year old Derek Edwards (27–4–1, 14 KOs) on TruTV.
[29] The fight took place at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, as Ramírez defeated Edwards via a ten-round decision.
Edwards' trainer Jeff Mayweather advised him to get closer and work on the inside, but he was unable to do so due to the reach and size advantage of Ramírez.
With the win, Ramírez moved closer to a potential world title fight after being ranked in the top 3 by the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO.
[30] On 12 September, another edition of Top Rank's Metro PCS Friday Night Knockout series on TruTV was announced with Ramírez appearing on the undercard on 20 November.
[37] Ramírez put his name in Mexican boxing history, becoming the first fighter to win a super middleweight world title.
All three judges scored the fight 120–108 for Ramírez, who also became only the second Mexican to win a world title in a division heavier than middleweight, the first one having been Julio César González as the WBO light heavyweight champion in 2003.
[39] On 6 July, Ramírez suffered a hand injury while training, which ultimately called off the world title fight.
Bob Arum announced on 13 February 2017 that Ramírez would be making his first defence in Los Angeles, California, on April 22.
[44] On 19 June 2017, manager and trainer Hector Zápari announced a deal was in the works for Ramírez to defend his WBO title against mandatory challenger and WBO NABO titleholder Jesse "Hard Work" Hart (22–0, 18 KOs) with the fight possibly taking place in September 2017.
[49] In front of 4,103 fans, Ramírez retained his WBO super middleweight title in a hard-fought battle against a game Hart, which went the twelve round distance.
[59] On 30 April 2018 ESPN's Dan Rafael reported that a deal close to being completed for Ramírez to make a fourth defence against 34-year-old Colombian boxer Roamer Alexis Angulo (23–0, 20 KO) on 30 June at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
[61] In front of a small crowd of 5,241 in attendance, Ramírez successfully retained his WBO title in defeating Angulo via unanimous decision.
[65][66] In November, the fight was officially announced to take place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, on 14 December 2018.
Promoter Bob Arum believed both boxers had improved from their first bout, which took place in September 2017 and was a fight of the year candidate.
[68] In February, 2019, Ramirez, with the support of his team and Top Rank, announced that he will be moving in weight to seek new fights at light heavyweight.
[69] On 12 April 2019, on the Lomachenko vs Crolla undercard, Ramirez made his debut at 175 pounds against former world title challenger Tommy Karpency.
Ramirez managed to force Karpency to retire in his corner at the end of the fourth round, throwing 316 punches during the process, landing 83, of which 30 were body shots.
[71] Ramírez knocked out Alfonso Lopez in the tenth round to claim the NABF title in Galveston, Texas.
On October 7, 2023, in Las Vegas, Ramirez made his cruiserweight debut against former WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr.[73] He won by unanimous decision.
[74] On March 30, 2024 at YouTube Theater inside SoFi Stadium[75] in Inglewood, California, Ramirez was scheduled to challenge Arsen Goulamirian for the WBA cruiserweight title.
[77] Ramirez put his WBA cruiserweight title on the line in a world championship unification bout against WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 16 November 2024.