Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez has not at all wavered on his insistence of dethroning Dmitry Bivol.

If anything, the unbeaten Mexican southpaw has grown more confident of pulling off the upset this Saturday, when the two meet in their DAZN main event from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Bivol (20-0, 11KOs) is firmly placed as a healthy -400 favorite according to BetMGM sportsbook, which lists Ramirez (44-0, 30KOs) as a +300 underdog. Literally upsetting the odds will only make his long-envisioned victory that much more satisfying.

“He’s a good champion. He’s a good fighter. But he has to fight me,” Ramirez noted in an interview immediately following his open workout Wednesday evening in Abu Dhabi. That’s the bad thing for him. It will be his last title defense on Saturday night.”

Bivol has held the WBA light heavyweight title since 2017, when he was upgraded from interim title status. Saturday will mark the tenth attempted defense, coming six months after his most notable win to date when he outclassed then-pound-for-pound king Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (58-2-2, 39KOs) over twelve rounds on May 7 in Las Vegas.

Ramirez cemented his place as the mandatory challenger to Bivol’s title just one week later in a fourth-round knockout of Germany’s Dominic Boesel. The win was his fifth, all by stoppage, since moving up from super middleweight where he held the WBO super middleweight belt for three years dating back to his April 2016 title winning effort over Arthur Abraham.

The 31-year-old southpaw from Mazatlan has always stated a desire to face Bivol from the moment he moved up in weight. He finally has his wish, and vows to not squander the opportunity.

“I want to take the belt,” Ramirez repeatedly insisted. “Two-division world champion. That’s my dream and I want to do it on Saturday.

“I want to take everything from him. I want to take the belt.”

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