The rematch between super middleweight world titleholder Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez and Jesse Hart was made official on Tuesday.
They will meet in a sequel of their action-packed collision in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card on Dec. 14 (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, Top Rank announced.
"I think they have both gotten better but I think this fight will be very similar to the first one -- a terrific fight between two comparable guys," Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. "The rematch will come a little over a year after they first met on Sept. 22, 2017, on ESPN in the co-feature of the Oscar Valdez-Genesis Servania featherweight title fight in Tucson, Arizona.
In that fight, Mexican southpaw Ramirez (38-0, 25 KOs), 27, knocked Hart down in the second round of a hard-fought unanimous decision victory -- 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113 -- that was a fight-of-the-year candidate.
Hart (25-1, 21 KOs), 29, of Philadelphia, has campaigned hard for the rematch and has won three fights in a row by knockout since the loss to earn it.
"I'm very grateful and humbled for this opportunity," Hart said. "I just want to go out there and perform to the best of my ability. I have nothing derogatory to say about Gilberto Ramirez. At this point, I just want to go out there and perform."
Ramirez will be making the fifth defense of the 168-pound world title he took by shutout decision from Arthur Abraham in April 2016 in Las Vegas. Ramirez will be returning to the arena where he knocked out Habib Ahmed in the sixth round of his third title defense in February.
"This will be a good fight," Ramirez said. "I feel better prepared than the first time and even more convinced that I will finish him. I've always said that I wanted to be the king of the division. I've been waiting for unification fights, and I'm still patient. I'm at my best, and against Hart, I want to show why I'm the best."