Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez Misses Weight and Zurdo vs Rosado Bites the Dust

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Gabriel Rosado were slated to touch gloves on Saturday, March 18, in the featured bout of a Golden Boy Promotions card at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. Today at the afternoon weigh-in, Zurdo tipped the scale at 182.6 pounds, well above the contracted 175-pound limit, and the match was cancelled.

Ramirez vs. Rosado was hardly a compelling match-up. It wasn’t long ago that Zurdo was 44-0 and seemingly a threat to break Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0 mark. Among those 44 wins were five successful defenses of the WBO 168-pound world title that he won with a 12-round shutout of Germany’s Arthur Abraham. However, his level of competition was unexceptional (even after he won the title) and his resume was bereft of a signature win.

Any talk that Ramirez was Hall of Fame material ceased entirely after he moved up in weight to challenge WBA light heavyweight champion Dimitry Bivol. The Russian put on a masterclass which is another way of saying that Ramirez’s showing was lame. His pro record, 44-1 (30) is still glorious, but the “1” stands out more sharply than the “44.”

Philadelphia native Gabe Rosado, a 17-year veteran, is one of the sport’s most respected gatekeepers and most in-demand sparring partners (he has reportedly sparred 100 rounds with Zurdo who has become a good friend). His record, 26-16-1 (15), is misleading as he has been routinely matched tough. However, he’s lost three straight since his shocking one-punch knockout of previously undefeated Bektemir Melikuziev and when Ramirez vs. Rosado was announced, it was roundly lampooned on social media. At several international betting chains, Zurdo was as high as a 40/1 favorite before the fight was taken off the board.

There was speculation that Golden Boy was going to cancel the entire show, but the latest word is that the show will go on with the co-feature, Jojo Diaz vs. Mercito Gesta, bumping up into the main event.

Diaz (32-3-1, 16 KOs) is a former U.S. Olympian and former IBF world featherweight champion looking to get back on the winning track after back-to-back losses to Devin Haney and William Zepeda. Gesta, a 35-year-old Filipino, brings a 33-3-3 (17) record. He was slated to fight Ryan Garcia in January, but Garcia’s advisors had second thoughts and opted out so that Garcia could proceed directly to his forthcoming match with Gervonta Davis.

Diaz vs. Gesta will be contested at the catchweight of 138 pounds. It will air on DAZN.

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