Mexico's former WBO world super-middleweight champion Gilberto Ramirez made a big statement when he dropped Sullivan Barrera three times (twice from body shots) and stopped him in the 4th round of their scheduled 12 round light-heavyweight bout at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
Ramirez moved from Top Rank to Golden boy recently and this was his debut under his new promoters banner.
Career wins over Sean Monaghan, Felix Valera, Joe Smith Jr, Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, and Karo Murat show that Barrera is a dangerous foe for anyone in the 175lb division but Ramirez destroyed the former WBA world light-heavyweight title challenger, dropping him once in the third and once in the 4th with body shots and finishing him off with headshots, prompting referee Thomas Taylor to bring proceedings to a halt.
Golden Boy will surely now push for a shot at Joe Smith Jr (WBO), Dimitry Bivol (WBA), or Artur Beterbiev (WBC & IBF). Ramirez is 32-years-old and at his peak so now is the time to chase down the big names in the division.