Pacquiao vs. Bradley Undercard: Preview and Prediction for Abraham vs. Ramirez
The WBO super middleweight belt is on the line this Saturday night in Las Vegas, as Arthur Abraham defends his title against undefeated Gilberto Ramirez on the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley undercard.
This will be the German star's first time fighting in the United States since 2011, when he lost to Andre Ward. Abraham has a legitimate claim to being the No. 1 fighter in the world at 168 pounds, and Ramirez is top-five, so this one is extremely relevant for shaping the picture at 168 pounds.
This also has the potential to be a very good fight.
Tale of the Tape
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| Per Boxrec | Arthur Abraham | Gilberto Ramirez |
| Record: | 44-4, 29 KOs | 33-0, 24 KOs |
| Height: | 5'9" | 6'2.5" |
| Reach: | 72" | 75" |
| Weight: | 168 pounds | 168 lbs |
| Stance: | Orthodox | Southpaw |
| Age: | 36 | 24 |
| Hometown: | Berlin, Germany | Mazatlan, Sinaloa |
| Rounds: | 369 | 157 |
This tale of the tape is a study in contrasts. Abraham is 36 and fights in an orthodox stance, while the 24-year-old Ramirez is a southpaw. Abraham is compact, and Ramirez is tall and long.
Abraham was born in Armenia and has become a star in his adopted home of Germany. Ramirez is a product of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, one of the world's great boxing regions.
Main Storylines
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Arthur Abraham has been one of the biggest European boxing stars of this century. In 2006, he won the IBF middleweight belt and defended it 10 times before moving up to super middleweight to participate in the celebrated Showtime Super Six tournament.
Abraham never lost at 160 pounds, but he struggled in the Showtime tournament. Only a dramatic KO with six seconds left in the bout gave him a victory over Jermain Taylor. He lost to Andre Dirrell by disqualification and lost very one-sided decisions to Carl Froch and Andre Ward.
Since the tournament, he has fought exclusively in Germany. He captured the WBO super middleweight belt from Robert Stieglitz in 2012, then lost it in the 2013 rematch when he was stopped in Round 4 on cuts.
Abraham reclaimed the title in 2014 by split decision, then stopped Stieglitz in Round 6 last July. He's coming off a very hard-fought, split-decision victory over Martin Murray in November of last year.
Ramirez is a young, rising contender who passes the eyeball test. He's got the height and length of a heavyweight and has knocked out 24 of the 33 opponents he's faced. He has defeated some decent, fringe contenders, but he has not faced anybody remotely in Abraham's class.
This is Ramirez's opportunity to prove that he belongs in the top strata of super middleweight fighters.
Strengths
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Arthur Abraham is a physically powerful, aggressive pressure fighter. He is extremely tough and durable and punishes opponents when they allow him to move inside on them.
Abraham's resume is outstanding. He's a cagey fighter who has faced most of the best of his generation.
Gilberto Ramirez has tremendous length and reach and a powerful left hand. He has very good punch selection and is a particularly good body-puncher, digging his left hand into an opponent's torso from long range.
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Weaknesses
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Arthur Abraham is a one-dimensional fighter. He struggles against opponents who can check his forward momentum and force him to back up. He tends to fight in bursts, which give opponents a chance to dictate pace.
There's no question Abraham is an aging talent. He's 36 and has been through some truly brutal fights.
Gilberto Ramirez has a very bad habit of remaining stationary after throwing his own combinations. This causes him to end up in far too many dogfights on the inside. This will be a very dangerous tendency for him against a mauler like Abraham.
Arthur Abraham Will Win If...
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While it's tough at this point to really know how good Gilberto Ramirez is, I think it's safe to say that Arthur Abraham has faced opponents who were better. He's beaten better.
Abraham has to bring that much deeper pool of experience into play in this fight and push the young challenger far out of his comfort zone. He needs to make this a rough, bruising fight.
Abraham is going to want to slip under Ramirez's jab while stepping to the outside with his lead left foot. He wants to close the distance while denying the southpaw Ramirez the angle on a straight left hand.
A good combination for Abraham while closing the distance is a lunging, overhand right followed by a left hook to the body. If he can hammer Ramirez's torso, he'll sap the younger man's energy and wear him down on the inside.
Abraham does need to keep a good, consistent pace in this fight. If he relies too much on fighting in spurts, Ramirez will be able to take control of the fight's tempo and start forcing Abraham backward.
Gilberto Ramirez Will Win If...
6 of 7Gilberto Ramirez has considerable length and reach advantages in this fight. He better make the most of them, because if he lets Arthur Abraham dictate the range of this fight, he's going to get pounded badly.
Ramirez needs to use a stiff jab to check Abraham's forward movement. At the same time, he needs to be very careful about positioning his lead right foot to the outside of Abraham's lead left. If the southpaw Ramirez can establish the range and angle to consistently land his straight left, he'll be in good shape in this fight.
Ramirez needs to move out of range when he gets off with his own punches. He's a young, power puncher who has been more physically imposing and athletic than any of his opponents to date. That's allowed him to develop a bad habit of staying in range after throwing his punches.
But it made his fight with Maxim Vlasov closer than it should have been. If he remains stationary too much against Abraham, he'll get mauled.
Prediction
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If Gilberto Ramirez wins this fight, it will complete the changing of the guard in the super middleweight division. Ramirez would be positioned for exciting unification bouts with fellow young champions James DeGale (IBF) and Badou Jack (WBC).
But I don't think Arthur Abraham is ready to be pushed aside just yet. I expect a competitive, action-packed fight but also think Abraham will be able to capitalize on Ramirez's inexperience to make this a brutal and awkward battle, allowing him to beat up the younger challenger and capture a unanimous decision.
Abraham's promoters won the purse bid for this fight. The fact that they opted to make the bout in Las Vegas instead of Germany, on a high-profile card like this one, indicates that they want to raise Abraham's profile in North America.
If Abraham does indeed manage to win here, my own guess is that he'll be back in Las Vegas again later this year to face Jack.
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