Despite having just delivered a brilliant unanimous decision win over Chris Billam-Smith to become the new unified cruiserweight world champion Saturday night, Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez is well aware of Jai Opetaia being considered the top fighter in the division.
And the Mexican fighter is eager to change that perception. During his post-fight interview with DAZN's Chris Mannix, the WBA/WBO cruiserweight world champion made it clear that he wants Opetaia, the owner of the IBF title, next.
"Yeah, of course, I want to unify with all the champions and that's the main goal for me," Ramirez said when Opetaia's name was brought up. "And I think for all the champions, too."
Such a blockbuster fight would pit Ramirez (47-1 with 30 KOs) against the undefeated Australian Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) in a clash of styles that would make for a must-see fight.
Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and live on DAZN, had Ramirez using his footwork and volume punching to overwhelm a bigger Billam-Smith.
Whether that could be the recipe to defeating a heavy-handed Opetaia, though, remains to be seen.