Monday 11 April 2016 13:08, UK
Some consider Callum Smith the super-middleweight division's hottest prospect - but Gilberto Ramirez is younger and already a world champion.
On April 2, Smith (19-0-KO14) blasted his way to the European title and the WBC No 1 challenger's spot with another emphatic stoppage - this time of France's Hadillah Mohoumadi (20-4-1-KO15).
It led many, including the legendary Nigel Benn, to hail the towering Liverpudlian as the future dominant force at 168lbs and led most to make him a clear favourite in prospective clashes with domestic rivals George Groves and Martin Murray.
While there is no doubting that at the age of 25, Smith's ascension to a world title seems a matter of time, there are question marks as to when he'll be able to exercise his right to fight for the WBC world title. Ramirez (34-0-KO24), meanwhile, became WBO king on Saturday by comfortably outpointing Arthur Abraham - and the Mexican is still 24.
With victory in Las Vegas, Ramirez is Mexico's first ever world super-middleweight champion. From the coastal town of Mazatlan, Sinoloa, he turned professional soon after his 18th birthday. The following year, he boxed no fewer than nine times and went on to make his US debut in 2013.
Similarities between Ramirez and Smith are immediately clear. Primarily, their frames make it almost a miracle of modern science that they're able to make 12 stone. Smith stands at just over 6ft 3in, while Ramirez is less than an inch shorter. Their nicknames are both Spanish; Smith is known as 'Mundo' while Ramirez goes by 'Zurdo.'
'Zurdo' simply means left-handed, and during his systematic outclassing of Abraham at the weekend came signs his southpaw jab may become one of the more celebrated shots in world boxing.
Abraham is 36 and is notoriously passive in terms of work-rate. The Armenian-cum-German is more recognisable for his high-guard defence these days than anything else and standing at just 5ft 9in, any assaults he did make often fell short of Ramirez.
It's always easy to question what's left in an ageing boxer and Ramirez admittedly failed to stop Abraham, but only one person has managed that in Abraham's 49-fight career. In addition, 'Zurdo' was awarded every single round by all three judges; official confirmation of the clinically professional method in which he fulfilled the world title dream.
It's also too soon to write Abraham off as 'finished'. As recently as November 2015, he made a successful (if controversial) points defence against Martin Murray; the St Helens fighter who took Gennady Golovkin into the deepest water of his career.
In short, Abraham was a bona fide world champion who was simply unable to navigate his way around the very, very good jab of Ramirez. It was not just the jab, though; there were also plenty of back-hands thrown around the side of Abraham's trademark guard and some impressive right hooks to the body. For long periods, Ramirez's variety cut down the frequency of Abraham's attacks from his customary setting of 'minimal' to virtually nil.
Perhaps most importantly, Ramirez showed maturity and patience. With champion spending a lot of time edging forward in peek-a-boo stance, there was always a danger challenger could become drunk on his success and dally in range that second too long, allowing Abraham to set his feet and unveil that dangerous right hand. Ramirez avoided the temptation.
There's no escaping the fact that Abraham is a tactically unique proposition and that Ramirez's success against him will prove irrelevant against others but equally, he's only the second man to beat him in the last five years. On paper, it looks a significant victory and a message to the likes of Smith, James DeGale and Groves.
Potentially, in the barely-visible distance, a clash between Britain's 'Mundo' and Mexico's 'Zurdo' as unbeaten world champions is on the horizon.
