A champion seeks respect while a challenger bids to make history when WBA cruiserweight titleholder Arsen Goulamirian makes his fifth defense against the popular Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez at the YouTube Centre in Inglewood, California, on March 30.
The 12-round bout plus undercard action will be broadcast by DAZN.
Goulamirian (27-0, 19 KOs) has been a world champion since 2018 and has made four successful defences. However, this fight marks the first time that the Armenian-born Frenchman will have mixed with a high-profile opponent.
WATCH: Arsen Goulamirian vs. Gilberto Ramirez, live on DAZN
Ramirez (45-1, 30 KOs) spent two years of his career as the WBO super middleweight champ. A stint at light heavyweight ended in a points defeat to WBA king Dmitry Bivol, after which "Zurdo" moved up to cruiserweight. In his most recent outing, in October, Ramirez outpointed Joe Smith Jr.
The Sporting News provides odds and a final prediction for this cruiserweight world title fight:
Arsen Goulamirian vs. Gilberto Ramirez betting odds
Per BetMGM, Ramirez is the -225 favourite while Goulamirian is the +175 underdog. The draw is +2000.
Arsen Goulamirian vs. Gilberto Ramirez trends
- Goulamirian via KO/ TKO/ Tech. Dec/ DQ: +500
- Goulamirian via decision: +350
- Ramirez via KO/TKO/Tech. Dec/ DQ: +333
- Ramirez via decision: +100
Arsen Goulamirian vs. Gilberto Ramirez prediction, best bets
The odds for this fight are really interesting.
While Ramirez is the more well-known of the two, he’s a lot smaller than the reigning champ. In his cruiserweight debut against Smith, "Zurdo" looked fleshy at 191¾ pounds and he still carries the frame of a light heavyweight.
Conversely, Goulamirian is a beast at the cruiserweight limit (200 pounds) and looks as though he could give some heavyweights a run for their money. Of the five title fights that Goulamirian has contested, only one opponent (Aleksei Egorov) has lasted the distance.
One of Zurdo’s main assets at the lower weights was work rate. In his losing effort to Bivol, he still managed to release 878 punches through 12 rounds, according to CompuBox. However, against Smith at cruiserweight, the Mexican threw less than half of that total (415) over 10 rounds.
MORE: SN's top-12 cruiserweight rankings
Zurdo's southpaw stance could be a factor but I wouldn't bet on it. He's never been the elusive type, and the last time Goulamirian fought a lefty (Constantin Bejenaru in 2019), he had no trouble finding the target en route to a ninth-round stoppage.
The main factors going against Goulamirian are age and inactivity. The 36-year-old pressure fighter has had just one fight in 40 months, which could come back to haunt him. However, the good news is that he’s always tremendously conditioned, so Goulamirian may have shirked some of the rust in training.
I’m not convinced that Ramirez is a cruiserweight and I think he might come unstuck here. Goulamirian can crack, he’s got quick hands for a big man, and he’s a busy fighter himself. This is the "Zurdo Show", but if the judges aren’t swayed by the crowd, I can see the champion retaining on points.
Sporting News prediction: Goulamirian UD 12 (Per BetMGM: +350)
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