40-0 Gilberto Ramirez returns to ring Dec. 18 vs. Alfonso Lopez on PPV
The long-awaited return of
undefeated *Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez* (40-0, 26 KOs) will be Friday night,
December 18, when he challenges North American Boxing Federation (NABF)
light heavyweight *Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez* (32-3, 25 KOs), live on pay
per view from Galveston Island Convention Center in Galveston, Texas.
“Battle of Rio Grande” will be available for live viewing on digital, cable
and satellite, starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, on pay per view for a
suggested retail price of only $24.99. FITE TV will stream worldwide on the
FITE app and website (www.FITE.tv
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and Integrated Sports Media will distribute throughout North America via
DirecTV, iN Demand, Vubiquity, and DISH in the United States, as well as in
Canada on Shaw and SaskTel.
The main event fighters, Ramirez and Lopez, are co-promoters of “Battle of
Rio Grande” under their promotional company names, respectively, Zurdo
Promotions and El Tigre Promotions.
The 29-year-old Ramirez, fighting out of Mazatlán, Mexico, became the first
Mexican super middleweight champion of the world in 2016, when he defeated
defending World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion *Arthur Abraham* (44-4)
by way of a 12-round unanimous decision. Ramirez successfully defended his
world title against 33-4-1 *Maksym Bursak* (DEC12), 22-0 *Jesse Hart*
(WDEC12), 25-0-1 *Habif Ahmed* (TKO6), 23-0 *Roamer Alexis Angulo* (DEC12)
and 25-1 Hart (DEC12) in a rematch.
Ramirez’ last fight, his first as a light heavyweight, was last April in
Los Angeles, in which “Zurdo” stopped 29-6-1 *Tommy Karpency* in four
rounds. Ramirez then became a promotional free agent.
Lopez will be fighting close to his home in Huntsville, Texas. “El Tigre”
will be riding a 10-fight win streak into the ring for the Dec. 18th
12-round main event. He hasn’t fought in 13 months, registering a 10-round
decision over 19-9-1 *Denis Grachev* in Lopez’ first defense of the NABF
title he captured in his previous fight with a fourth-round stoppage of
21-3 *Alex Theran*.
“I’m looking forward to hosting my first fight and appreciate all the
support and love I’ve received from everybody,” Ramirez said. I want to
give special thanks to FITE.TV, El Tigre Promotions, Be Def Sports, and the
state of Texas for being great partners in this event. I know it’s been a
long road to return, but I feel great having full control of my career and
being able to fight whenever, wherever, and however, I want. As always, I
appreciate my trainers – *Julian Chua*, *Joel Flores,* and *Chris Wong* –
keeping me in shape since my last fight and I feel better than ever to step
back in the ring. I’ll see you guys December 18th in Texas!”
World-rated heavyweight *Michael “The Bounty” Hunter*, of Las Vegas, will
take on battle-tested veteran *Chauncy “Hillyard Hammer” Welliver*
(57-13-5, 23 KOs), the former World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental
Americas champion.
Hunter is rated among the top 10 in all four major sanctioning bodies — #4
International Boxing Federation (IBF), #7 WBO, #10 WBC and World Boxing
Association – in addition to being ranked # 8 by *The Ring* independent
magazine.
Hunter’s last action was a 12-round split draw a year ago in Saudi Arabia
with *Alexander Povetkin* (35-2), the former world heavyweight champion and
2004 Olympic gold medalist. A decorated U.S. amateur boxer, Hunter’s lone
loss as a professional was a 12-round unanimous decision in 2017 to another
Olympic gold medalist (2012), defending champion *Oleksandr Usyk* (11-0),
for the WBO World cruiserweight title.
Additional fights will soon be announced.
Card subject to change.
*INFORMATION:*
Website: www.ZurdoPromotions.com
Instagram: @zurdoramirez, @zurdopromotions, @eltigrepromotions, @bedefsports
Twitter: ZurdoPromotions, @GilbertoZurdoRamirez, MichaelHunterII,
@Fite.tv, @IntegratedPPV
