Mexican fighter Gilberto Ramirez has become a world champion once more after he defeated French former WBA ‘super’ champion Arsen Goulamirian to take his title and notch another world title onto his resume. The two battled head-to-head at the Youtube Theater in Inglewood, California, in a show that was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions on March 30th, and broadcasted by DAZN.
Arsen Goulamirian’s (27-1, 19 KO’s) track record of inactivity finally proved his downfall as he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Gilberto Ramirez (46-1, 30 KO’s) who only recently entered the division following a decision win over former light-heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr (28-5, 22 KO’s) in 2023.
The twelve-round title bout, with Goulamirian’s WBA title on the line, was a one-sided display from Ramirez who won handily according to the three judges’ scorecards who all scored the bout 118-110 in favor of Gilberto Ramirez following the end of the bout―which also resulted in Goulamirian’s undefeated record being broken.
With Gilberto Ramirez having enjoyed a stint as WBO champion at super middleweight in 2018, it has taken nearly six years for the Mexican to regain a world title following a dominant performance over Goulamirian. Goulamirian’s own performance was disappointing, but it pinpointed the significance of being an active fighter as the Frenchman proved incapable of dealing with Ramirez’ swift and efficient offensive.
Defensively speaking, Arsen Goulamirian’s timing seemed dreadfully off, allowing Ramirez to capitalize on his opponent’s shortcomings as his reflexes from nearly two years of being out of the ring had clearly deteriorated. Offensively too, Goulamirian failed to establish himself as Ramirez’ guard proved to be too impenetrable for the Frenchman to break through.
As a result, most of the twelve rounds went soundly in Ramirez’ favor, allowing him to become the WBA ‘super’ cruiserweight champion at the end of the match. The current status of Gilberto Ramirez as the WBA cruiserweight champion has helped balance the division out once more, with Goulamirian’s own tenure as a champion having been filled with bouts of inactivity that prevented a host of WBA-ranked cruiserweight contenders from getting the opportunity to win a title.
Ramirez’ win now finally opens up the division to allow for new opportunities for cruiserweight contenders aiming to become a world champion. Ironically, it had been Goulamirian’s own decision to face Gilberto Ramirez in a voluntary defense of his WBA ‘super’ title rather than outright facing Cuban mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos (26-2, 24 KO’s), and it appears to be a decision that the French national might rue for some time to come.
The WBA is now expected to order Ramirez to face Dorticos in a mandatory title defense, and with time left remaining this year, there is every chance of the mandated bout occurring this year.
Further complementing the Golden Boy Promotions card was an undercard match between American welterweight contender Alexis Rocha (24-2, 16 KO’s) and Ghanaian contender Fredrick Lawson (30-5, 22 KO’s), with both fighters coming off of losses. Unsurprisingly, it was Rocha―who came into the match with the higher pedigree given he had been a genuine contender before his 2023 loss to Giovani Santillan (32-0, 17 KO’s)―that came out on top after stopping Lawson in the seventh round of their ten-round scheduled bout after Lawson’s corner decided to stop the match. Rocha’s victory was ruled a knockout (KO) due to California’s rules.
A rematch with Giovani Santillan might be feasible for Alexis Rocha at the moment, as the 147 lbs WBO titleholder, Terence Crawford, is expected to be engaged at 154 lbs in the near future for the WBO title in that division―preventing either fighter from facing the unified welterweight champion any time soon. Interestingly, there is a possibility Santillan―the current #1 ranked welterweight by the WBO―could face Rocha depending on whether Crawford fights and wins the 154 lbs WBO title, and chooses to remain at super welterweight/junior middleweight.
In that scenario, the WBO welterweight title could be vacated, allowing Rocha and Santillan to battle in a pivotal rematch for a world title.
American flyweight contender Ricardo Rafael Sandoval (24-2, 17 KO’s) also featured on the card but remains shy of any genuine world title opportunity even after defeating Nicaraguan fighter Carlos Buitrago (38-13-1, 22 KO’s) stoppage in the eight round after a ringside doctor stopped the bout.
With there being three champions currently present in the flyweight division, Sandoval continues to remain a top 10 fighter according to the WBA, WBC, and WBO rankings, but a victory over Buitrago will only slightly increase his chances for a world title opportunity, and will only be meaningful in the sense of Sandoval remaining active.
The WBA title is currently in the hands of Japanese champion Seigo Yuri Akui (19-2-1, 11 KO’s) who recently defeated Artem Dalakian (22-1, 15 KO’s) to conquer the WBA belt, but it is currently unlikely Akui’s Top Rank connections through Teiken Promotions [with whom Akui is signed] will give Golden Boy fighter Sandoval an immediate opportunity.
WBC champion Julio Cesar Martinez (21-3, 15 KO’s) is affiliated with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) which will drastically lower the chances of Sandoval fighting him. Additionally, Martinez is expected to face a mandatory challenger in the near future, which will likely not be Sandoval as he is ranked at #6.
WBO and IBF champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KO’s) remains the only realistic possibility for Sandoval to fight for a world title in the near future, with Rodriguez signed to Matchroom who is connected to Golden Boy through DAZN―which has led to several partnership events between the two promotions including the upcoming April 20th bout between Devin Haney (31-0 ,15 KO’s) and Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KO’s).
Currently, Ricardo Sandoval is ranked at #4 and #15 on the WBO’s and IBF’s flyweight ranking boards respectively, and through the WBO has substantial leverage to potentially land a fight against Jesse Rodriguez.
