Gilberto Ramirez of Mexico makes the third defence of his WBO super-middleweight belt when he meets unknown Ghanaian Habib Ahmed at the Bank of America Center in Corpus Christi, Texas on Saturday night.
Ramirez, 26, whose birth names are Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez, won the WBO belt in April 2016 when he outpointed the vastly experienced Arthur Abraham by wide margins of 120-108 on all three judges’ scorecards.
The southpaw champion, who has a record of 36-0; 24, then made successful defences against Max Bursak (pts 12) and Jesse Hart (pts 12).
Ahmed (25-0-1; 17) from Accra has never fought outside his home country and has not been up against a top rated opponent.
His high ranking of number four by the WBO is questionable.
It is possible that he has been elevated in the rankings after his win over Philip Kotey (30-10-2) in March 2017 for the vacant WBO Africa super-middleweight title. He won on an 11th-round stoppage.
The champion must be favoured to retain his title on points over 12 rounds.
The other major organisation super-middleweight champions are WBA, George Groves (England), WBC, David Benavidez (USA) and IBF, Caleb Truax (USA).
ANCAJAS DEFENDS AGAINST GONZALEZ
On the same card Filipino southpaw Jerwin Ancajas (28-1-1; 19) makes the fourth defence of his IBF junior-bantamweight belt when he goes in against Mexico’s Israel Gonzalez (21-1; 8).
The 26-year-old Ancajas’s only loss on his record was in March 2013 when he lost on a majority 10-round points decision to Mark Anthony Geraldo.
Gonzalez, who is listed at number nine in the IBF rankings, has never been in with a top ranked opponent and goes into the fight as the underdog. He could be stopped inside the distance.
The other main organisation champions are WBA, Khalid Yafai (England), WBC, Srisaket Rungvisai (Thailand) and WBO, Naoya Inoue (Japan).
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