Top American mentor Joel Diaz is confident that WBA Super light heavyweight champion Russian Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) will cope with his mandatory challenger Mexican Gilberto Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs).
The other day, the WBA sanctioned this fight. Yes only
Diaz is not surethat it will take place – admits that Ramirez will refuse the fight: “That’s what I’m talking about. Yes, Gilberto is not just good. He’s also a cool dude. And if we are talking about Mexican boxing, then now he is one of its best representatives. But I’m talking about something else. About style. And it’s not in his favor.”
“Bivol has a lot more advantages,” the coach is sure. “I think he will dominate the fight. Why? Footwork, speed. It’s much more technical. This is in short. Gilberto prefers to work as the first number, he strives to break his opponent, relies on striking power. And Bivol is smarter, more cunning.”
Diaz often helps in the preparation of Bivol, and the American sports media sometimes mistakenly call him the Russian mentor (in fact, this is Gennady Mashyanov). To be honest, the American himself behaves as if Bivol is his ward: “Will the fight take place or not? I do not know yet. We are waiting for the go-ahead from the manager or promoter.”
Bivol made a name for himself in May when he beat Mexican superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez as the undisputed under-division champion.
Ramirez has already shared his emotions about the fight with Bivol, but he also tensed a little: Hearn wants to “take away” this fight from him. Promoter Oscar De La Hoya reassured the applicant: Bivol is not going anywhere, Hearn is nobody, he does not decide anything.
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