Julian Chua, the trainer of Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, thought Jai Opetaia had a good performance against David Nyika, but his opinion that Ramirez will beat Opetaia is unchanged.
Ramirez, 33, from Mexico, is training in Los Angeles with Chua at Brickhouse Boxing. He currently holds the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles. Opetaia is the IBF titleholder. The two are widely considered the most distinguished fighters of the division.
“It was good performance. He’s strong,” Ramirez said. “He wanted to fight right away and David Nyika entertained it.”
Ramirez last fought in November winning a unanimous decision over titleholder Billam-Smith. In March, he became a titleholder defeating the unbeaten Arsen Goulamirian, who held the WBA title. Ramirez with a record of 47-1 (30 KOs),
“Opetaia is open to get caught with shots when he is aggressive, but I’ve also seen Jai fight a very disciplined fight where he kept his distance,” Chua said. “He doesn’t have just one style.”
Despite believing the Australian Opetaia, 29, had a good performance, Chua still believes Ramirez will be a handful for Opetaia. One thing Chua mentioned was Ramirez’s ability to take a punch along with his strong technique. Though it seems Ramirez will not fight Opetaia next, Chua gives his thoughts.
“I think ‘Zurdo’ wins if he fights Opetaia,” Chua said. “I try not to look too far ahead. I’ve been focused on the guy that I can’t announce yet, but the guy we’re supposed to fight, and I’m just taking it one step at a time.”
Chua, who has been instrumental in Ramirez’s career over the past couple of years, has faith in Ramirez against anyone, even if it is the unbeaten Opetaia, who holds a record of 27-0 (21 KOs). That could be a “big fight” leading to unification.
“I obviously have ‘Zurdo’ winning every fight,” Chua said. “I don’t think that anyone in cruiserweight can beat him.”
Lucas Ketelle took an unconventional path to boxing, eventually finding his stride in gyms and media. For the past decade, he has hosted the “Lukie Boxing” podcast, filmed training camps for fighters like Arnold Barboza Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Caleb Plant, and worked with top professionals such as Mike Bazzel. Ketelle is also an author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for ProBox TV, BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @LukieBoxing.
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