Rising Star Gilberto Ramirez Ready to Capitalize on Canelo Ducking Golovkin

Boxing fans hoped that the sport’s biggest Mexican star would step up to the plate and face his universally recognized toughest challenger, but Canelo Alvarez instead elected to take the path of least resistance rather than that of boxing glory.

Canelo, or maybe his handlers at Golden Boy Promotions, has decided to play fast and loose with fan loyalty by kicking a highly demanded fight with Gennady Golovkin down the road once again in favor of challenging Liam Smith for a 154-pound title on HBO pay-per-view, a fight nobody demanded.

That decision could have some repercussions, especially among Mexican fight fans, who are a loyal but demanding bunch. They’ll have your back to the end, but you have to reward that rabid loyalty by adhering to a non-negotiable warrior code.

You’re supposed to be tough and leave it all in the ring. You can lose, but you can’t quit.

You’re supposed to take on tough challenges, stare them down and fight until you can’t fight anymore.

And, most importantly, you can never walk away from a fight.

Canelo’s decision to do the latter (we can talk all about his future plans, but words in this industry are meaningless without action) has opened the floodgates of criticism from all quarters and created an opening for one of his compatriots to step into the void.

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

You can count Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez among those who are disappointed by the actions of his fighting nation’s standard bearer, and he’s not pulling his punches.

"What Canelo is doing is very disappointing for us as boxing fans," Ramirez said, per Yahoo Sports. "A lot of us want to see that fight, him and Golovkin. But when he says something in the ring that, 'Yeah, I want to fight him,' and then turns around and decides he’s not going to fight him, it makes all of us boxers look bad, especially him.

"He said it was for the title and that it was for pride, but obviously, he has neither. He doesn’t have the title or the pride."

That’s a bit harsh, but it probably sums up the thinking of many a boxing fan who is disappointed and disenchanted about once again having to deal with an uncertain timeline surrounding the fight they want more than any other.

Ramirez is an undefeated fighter from Sinaloa who ranked near the top of the list among boxing's better prospects for several years.

He doesn’t possess near the name recognition or cache of Canelo, who has benefited from high-profile fights and has been a household name since before he even reached the legal drinking age in the States.

Zurdo captured the WBO Super Middleweight Championship in a surprisingly one-sided fight against veteran Arthur Abraham in April. It was a performance that put him on the map, even if poor PPV numbers for the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley rematch meant many didn't see it.

He’ll make his first defense against underwhelming German challenger Dominik Britsch (who, just a few fights back, dropped a majority decision to a 6-3 fighter) on the Terence Crawford-Viktor Postol undercard, but his promoter Bob Arum sees big things in his future.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

And those big things start with Golovkin, something (should it come together) that would immediately endear him to many Mexican fans who might feel let down by Canelo.

"I have great confidence in Zurdo, and while I think Golovkin is an excellent fighter, I believe my guy beats him," Arum said, per Yahoo Sports (h/t Edward Chaykovsky of Boxing Scene).

"So a guy like Zurdo, who has the capability and the personality and the ability to be a pay-per-view star, you have to take the shot. And the way to do that is to have him fight Golovkin and win it."

It’s a tall order but one that really represents a no-lose situation for Ramirez.

He’d be playing with house money.

Ramirez would get credit for taking the fight, even if he doesn’t win.

There’s a certain value to challenging yourself and daring to be great (particularly in Mexican boxing) that would stand in stark contrast to his compatriot, of whom he’s been critical in recent days.

Golovkin holds three-fourths of the middleweight crown and is universally recognized as the best fighter in his division. He’s knocked out 22 straight opponents and hasn’t heard the final bell in a fight since 2008.

Ramirez has been mentioned as a possible foe (should a Canelo fight not materialize) for Golovkin for the past few months. 

Arum has tons of confidence in his ability to become a PPV star, something that would be buoyed by a win or even good showing against GGG, and has been vocal about his desire to make that fight a reality.

He also hasn’t missed an opportunity to needle Canelo, and his former protege and current promotional rival Oscar De La Hoya, and was blunt in his assessment of a potential Canelo-GGG fight.

"All the clamor for 'Canelo'-Golovkin, you think that’s an even fight? So put it off as long as possible, hope [Golovkin] gets beat and it goes away, or that [Golovkin] gets old," Arum said, per the Los Angeles Times (h/t Chaykovsky).

"Canelo is good, but Triple-G with Canelo is a massacre. It’s one thing to lose a decision to Mayweather. It’s another thing to get counted out by Golovkin."

Arum apparently doesn’t have that fear for Ramirez or, if he does, has rightly decided that the rewards would easily outweigh the risks.