Ramirez might be in a different pickle should he win as a Canelo fight could be difficult to make if Canelo doesn't want to deal with his former promoter and Ramirez's current- Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, and a Beterbiev fight could be a tough sell as Beterbiev's promoter, Top Rank, once promoted Ramirez and the parting wasn't amiable.
I lean toward Bivol as he can do more things while Ramirez has been scoring knockouts late. he isn't a big puncher and I'm not sure that he can hit Bivol enough to grind him down.
The co-feature will fill the vacant IBF junior lightweight title as Shavkat Rakhimov faces Zelfa Barrett.
Rakhimov fought for this title in February 2021 but settled for a majority draw against Joseph Diaz, who had given up the title on the scales before the fight.
Barrett holds a win over Kiko Martinez but hasn't proven himself above the European level and I have doubts that he will hold up under the pressure of Rakhimov.
Showtime returns to Minneapolis for another minor title defense of super middleweight David Morrell, who defends against undefeated Aidos Yerbossnuly.
Both men have defeated Lennox Allen, Morrell winning by unanimous decision in 2020 and Yerbossnuly stopping Allen in ten rounds in 2021, and have extensive amateur backgrounds.
The winner will stay in the super middleweight picture among the various interims and minor titles under the unified champion of the division, Canelo Alvarez.
Former WBA and IBF junior middleweight champion Jeison Rosario attempts to bounce back from back-to-back knockout losses (Jermell Charlo and Erickson Lubin) against late replacement Brian Mendoza in a ten-round middleweight fight.
Mendoza is 18-2 but has fought no one in Rosario's class and I'd say this would be a mismatch if there wasn't the ever-present question of Rosario's chin, which has caused him to be stopped in all three of his career defeats.
The final fight is on the Showtime YouTube channel as two long-time contenders in their division that never won a world title will attempt to continue their careers as Andre Dirrell meets Yunieski Gonzalez in a light heavyweight ten-rounder.
Dirrell hasn't fought since last July and that is his only fight since December 2019 while Gonzalez was pounded by Gilberto Ramirez last December in his most recent bout.
These two are aging (Dirrell 39, Gonzalez 37) and don't seem to have much remaining in their careers but sometimes, fighters like these two can produce a very entertaining fight.
Boxing Challenge
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