Kevin Ramírez has just written the most important page of his professional career. The Argentine boxer became heavyweight champion World Boxing Council (WBC) Boxing Grand Prix After winning on points, the Bosnian won unanimously Ahmed Krnjic in the final, which will be held this Saturday, December 20, in Riyadh.
The Wilde native (12-0-2, 4 KOs) clearly came out on top on the judges’ cards: José Manzur (Mexico), Alan Krebs (USA) and Janko Aleksic (Montenegro) won 77-75, while Ed Pearson (Canada) and Pavel Hynek (Czech Republic) scored 78-74, all in his favor. The victory came in a high demand environment with $200,000 at stake and the difference between both boxers was more than 30 kilos.
The Boxing Grand Prix is a direct elimination competition, similar to a tennis tournament, intended for fighters up to 26 years of age and with a maximum of 15 professional fights. 128 fighters from 40 countries took part in this edition, divided into four categories: Feather, super light, medium and heavy. All stages took place in Riyadh between April and October.
Six Argentine representatives took part in the tournament, but five were eliminated in the first round. Ramírez was the exception. He made it to the final with a string of four consecutive wins, despite having spent his entire previous professional career in the cruiser category. At the suggestion of his promoter, he agreed to compete in the heavyweight division. Mario Margossianand didn’t miss the opportunity.
In the first round he was eliminated in just 27 seconds The Dutchman Brian Zwartwhich surpassed him by 17 centimeters and 20 kilos. In the second phase he won on points and unanimously against The Congolese Reagan Apanuafter knocking him out in the fourth round despite coming to the fight with a fever, vomiting and diarrhea. He had a very close fight against him in the quarterfinals The Polish Piotr Laczwhich ended in a draw and had to be decided by the WBC regulatory body, which ruled in their favour.
In the semi-finals the Wildense met American Dante Stonewho had more than 28 kilos in front of him. Ramírez sent him to the canvas with a right hand to the chin in the first round and that knockdown was the key to the split decision win. In the final he defeated Krnjic, who had arrived undefeated after being eliminated in his first two appearances and then won on points in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
After the consecration, Ramírez expressed his emotion: “First of all, thank God again. I feel very blessed.” This is a dream, it is a pride. I’ve been through a lot of things that no one knows; I was just about to hang up my gloves”. He also highlighted the support he received in the most difficult moments, stating: “I want to become cruise world champion. That’s my other dream.”
Ramírez works as a sweeper in the city of Buenos Aires for the municipal sanitation company Ashira and is a representative of the Truckers Union. He is currently ranked 12th in the WBC 200-pound rankings and is the division’s Latin American champion. After the fight, he particularly thanked Hugo Moyano, Pablo Moyano, Marcelo Aparicio, the Camioneros sports secretariat, his promoter Mario Margossian and the president of the WBC, Mauricio Sulaiman.
The title won in Riyadh makes Ramírez a mandatory challenger for the World Boxing Council silver belt and cements him as one of the greatest representatives of Argentine boxing. In addition, the Wildense is on the shortlist for the Olimpia boxing tournament, in recognition of a year that has already been marked by a historic consecration.
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