Gilberto Ramirez and Chris Billiam-Smith meet within the man occasion on Saturday, November sixteenth, in a unification combat at a cruiserweight in Riyadh on Latino Evening. The 34-year-old WBO champion Billiam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) will tackle WBA champ Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) in a 12-round combat, with the winner prone to face IBF champ Jai Opetaia in a three-belt unification subsequent.
(Credit score Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
Huggers Battle In Fundamental Occasion
Zurdo Ramirez and Billiam-Smith are underneath a lot strain to entertain, as neither is understood for his or her entertaining model. The 34-year-old Billiam-Smith is a clincher and doesn’t possess quite a lot of energy.
His current fights have been very boring to observe, however not fairly as dangerous as Zurdo’s in that regard. Each are what you name ‘Huggers,’ and it’s poison on the eyes for the typical fan. I completely hate this combat with all my being. I want it away, sending it to the middle of Sagittarius A.
The undercard fights are glorious, however simply the Ramirez-Billiam-Smith combat appears misplaced. If I have been the one calling the pictures at Golden Boy, I’d bury it and concentrate on selling the opposite fights.
The winner of the Ramirez vs. Billiam-Smith combat is seen as the following sufferer for IBF champ Jai Opetaia, who’s on one other degree, proficient and power-wise, than both of those guys. What we’re principally seeing on Saturday evening is the following sufferer for Opetaia being determined, and that takes away a lot of the curiosity.
Golden Boy put this combat in the principle occasion on account of it being a unification, nevertheless it’s a match that hasn’t attracted a lot curiosity from U.S. followers, who nonetheless bear in mind Ramirez from his one-sided loss to Dmitry Bivol in 2022.
It might have been wiser to put Ramirez vs. Billiam-Smith on the undercard under these fights:
- William Zepeda vs. Tevin Farmer
- Oscar Duarte vs. Botirzhon Akhmedov
- Jose Ramirez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr.
Though Ramirez, 33, has reinvented himself, successful his final two contests, he’s adopted a boring, pleasing hit-and-move model. Clearly, Ramirez had no selection as a result of he didn’t possess the facility to face and commerce at cruiserweight like he’d performed at 175 and 168.
Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya is attempting to show Ramirez right into a star, nevertheless it’s not prone to occur. He’s a 15-year professional about to show 34. If Ramirez hasn’t achieved stardom at this level, he by no means will.
The southpaw Ramirez has received his final two fights, beating a really gradual 36-year-old WBA cruiserweight champion Arsen Goulamirian by a 12-round unanimous resolution on March 30 to change into a two-division world champion and Joe Smith Jr.
Chris Billiam-Smith’s Current Wins
Richard Riakporhe
Mateusz Masternak
Lawrence Okolie
Isaac Chamberlain
“On the high of the invoice, you might have two of the highest cruiserweight on the planet proper now going at it for 2 belts with the probability of dealing with the #1 cruiserweight on the planet. That’s Jai Opetaia that’s going to be watching that combat very intently,” stated commentator Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing, speaking about Saturday’s combat between WBC champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and WBO champ Chris Billiam-Smith in the principle occasion.
“Zurdo has made an amazing run over a brief time frame, successful a world title in solely his second combat within the weight class [against 36-year-old WBA cruiserweight champion Arsen Goulamirian on March 30, 2024].
Why Zurdo’s Profession Hasn’t Blossomed
– Weak resume
– Lack of energy
– No charisma
– Failure to grasp the English language
– Boring combating model
“Chris Billiam-Smith is a career-long cruiserweight that’s simply now beginning to make a reputation for himself [at 34]. These two fighters are nice. It’s going to be an incredible conflict of types,” stated Mannix.
