Big-time boxing back in San Antonio
With no major fight cards since July, when Jermell Charlo took on Brian Castano in the main event at the AT&T Center, and nothing on the horizon, San Antonio appeared headed for a big-fight drought.
All that changed this past week with the surprise announcement of a Golden Boy Promotions show Dec. 18 at the AT&T Center, featuring undefeated Mexican star Gilberto Ramirez.
It’s not Canelo Alvarez, but “Zurdo” Ramirez is a familiar name to knowledgeable fight fans.
Ramirez (42-0, 28 knockouts) is scheduled to take on Yanieski “The Monster” Gonzalez (21-3, 17 KOS) in a 12-round WBA light heavyweight title eliminator, the main event on a nine-bout card streamed live on DAZN (8 p.m.).
“This is an excellent fight for Texas,” Ramirez, 30, said. “What better way to end the year (than) in a great battle? I know there are a lot of Mexican boxing fans in San Antonio.
“I have fought there before and am thankful to be back. I want to put on a good show.”
In the co-main event, three-time world champion Seniesa Estrada (21-0, 8 KOS) of East Los Angeles will defend her WBA minimumweight title against Maria Santizo (9-0, 5 KOS) of Guatemala.
Former U.S. Olympian Marlen Esparza (10-1, 1 KO) of Houston will defend her WBC flyweight title against EX-WBA champion Anabel Ortiz (31-4, 4 KOS) of Mexico City to open the broadcast.
The undercard features Kendo Castaneda (17-4, 8 KOS) of San Antonio taking on Raul Curiel (10-0, 8 KOS) of Mexico in a 10-round bout for the NABF welterweight title.
We’ve seen Ramirez before. On Nov. 15, 2014, he was a 23-year-old on his way up, promoted by Top Rank. After beating Fulgencio Zuniga at the Alamodome in an eighthround TKO, his future seemed limitless.
Ramirez has gone 12-0 since then, winning his first title in 2016 with an impressive, one-sided decision over Arthur Abraham for the WBO super middleweight belt.
The first fighter from Mexico to win a world title at 168 pounds, Ramirez defended the title five times before jumping up to light heavyweight.
Now fighting for Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy, Ramirez is attempting to position himself for a title at 175 pounds. The Ramirez-gonzalez winner will become the mandatory challenger for WBA champ Dmitry Bivol of Russia.
It will be the seventh time Ramirez has fought in thestate. San Antonio is lucky the card landed here, with competition from Los Angeles, Las Vegas and elsewhere in Texas.
The Alamodome also was an option, but the AT&T Center was the less expensive alternative, according to event coordinator Lester Bedford of Fort Worth.
Seating at the AT&T Center will be restricted to the lower bowl and capped at 7,000. Tickets — priced at $100, $75, $50, $35 and $25 — are available at ticketmaster.com.
S.A. nearly landed Garcia-diaz bout
According to Bedford, San Antonio narrowly missed out on an even bigger card planned for Nov. 27 at the Alamodome or AT&T Center, featuring rising star Ryan Garcia of Golden Boy and interim WBC lightweight champion Jojo Diaz.
“We were about to make the announcement when Garcia hurt his hand” during training, Bedford said, forcing the fight to be canceled.
Dec. 11 pro card at Wolff Stadium
Apart from the major shows, the local club cards continue to be the lifeblood of San Antonio boxing. Longtime local promoter Ricky Morones of TMB Promotions is hosting an outdoor event Dec. 11 at Wolff Stadium, featuring San Antonio featherweight Ricky Medina.
Medina (11-0, 6 KOS) is scheduled to battle Oscar Mojica (12-5-1, 1 KO) of Dallas in an eight-round bout. Also scheduled to appear are Guillermo Gutierrez, Ramon Acosta Jr., Jason Limon and Oge Harwell.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; first bell is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets — $1,000 for a VIP table of 10, $65, $45 and $35 — can be purchased by calling 210-449-5599 or at www.samissions.com.