LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez badly missed weight for his scheduled fight with Gabriel Rosado on Friday, and their light heavyweight bout has been canceled.
Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) was scheduled to return from the first defeat of his professional career as the headliner Saturday night at the Pyramid in Long Beach, California. Instead, Ramirez missed weight so badly that he didn't even attempt to get on the scale at the official weigh-in to see if he could make the 175-pound limit.
“No excuses,” Ramirez wrote in a post on his Instagram account. “I had never missed weight in my 45 pro fights. This is the first and last time. I have always prided myself on being a professional, but today was not my finest moment.”
Ramirez lost to Dmitry Bivol by unanimous decision in Abu Dhabi last November in a bout for the WBA light heavyweight title. He reigned as the WBO's super middleweight champion from 2016 to early 2019, when he relinquished the belt to move up to 175 pounds.
The 31-year-old Ramirez, a Mexican fighter who trains in Los Angeles, was a heavy favorite against Rosado, a tough veteran from Philadelphia moving up to light heavyweight for the first time. Ramirez and Rosado are friends and former sparring partners.
The Golden Boy fight card in Long Beach will proceed with former super featherweight world champion Joseph Diaz Jr. taking on Mercito Gesta at super lightweight in the main event.
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