Dominic Boesel admits that he was at a crossroad prior to his most recent fight.

The 32-year-old former interim light heavyweight titlist from Freyburg, Germany was all in for his rematch with countryman Robin Krasniqi, against whom he suffered a stunning third-round knockout just two fights prior. The loss snapped a six-fight win streak for Boesel, who needed to avenge the defeat to land the type of opportunity he has in his May 14 title eliminator with unbeaten Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (43-0, 29KOs) on DAZN from Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

A second defeat to Krasniqi would have ruined those plans along with any other future in the sport.

“It was very important to beat Krasniqi in the rematch, to put me in the situation that is here for me right now,” Boesel told BoxingScene.com during a recent Zoom media conference call to discuss the bout with Ramirez. “I told my team that if I lost (again to Krasniqi), then I would have finished my career and retired.”

Boesel prevailed by split decision last October in Magdeburg, Germany. The outcome was disputed but purposeful enough for Boesel (32-2, 12KOs) to reclaim his place as the number-one contender in the WBA light heavyweight rankings.

That spot is at risk in his upcoming showdown with Mexico’s Ramirez, which is a final title eliminator for the right to eventually challenge for the WBA light heavyweight title. The current claimant is Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11KOs), who defended the belt in a twelve-round unanimous decision over undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (57-2-2, 39KOs) on May 7 in Las Vegas.

“I won, so here I am to continue my career and pursue my dream of winning a world title,” noted Boesel.  

Boesel enters the bout and his U.S. debut having won his last two starts and eight of his last nine fights. Ramirez has knocked out all four opponents at light heavyweight since moving up in 2019 after vacating his WBO super middleweight title.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox