By Jake Donovan
Gilberto Ramirez takes his next step towards super middleweight title contention as he faces veteran spoiler Derek Edwards in a scheduled 12-round bout Friday evening at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.
Both fighters came in right at the 168 lb. limit for their main event, which airs live on truTV as part of Top Rank's
Metro PCS Friday Night Knockout
series.
Ramirez (31-0, 24KOs) fights for the third time in Texas, where he continues to grow as a star on the rise. His previous two appearances in the Lone Star State both ended in knockout— stopping Don Moulton in the 1st round of their UniMas-televised bout last February in Laredo and then knocking out veteran Fulgencio Zuniga last November in San Antonio.
The win over Zuniga marked Ramirez' first career bout affiliated with HBO, with the bout headlining an HBO Latino telecast. His most recent ring appearance came on HBO's flagship station, scoring a 10-round decision over Maxim Vlasov this past January, on the undercard of Brandon Rios' three-round rout of Mike Alvarado in their rubber match.
Edwards (27-4-1, 14KOs) was once a prospect on the rise before running into hard times, his record 1-4-1 in his last six starts. The one win showed evidence that he is still capable of big things on any given night, scoring a shocking 1st round knockout of Badou Jack last February.
The win is magnified in retrospect, with Jack going on to win a super middleweight title earlier this year. The feat came at the expense of dethroned titlist Anthony Dirrell, whose older brother Andre scored a 10-round decision over Edwards in the North Carolina native's most recent ring appearance last December.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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