Gilberto Ramirez and Chris Billiam-Smith meet in the men’s event on Saturday, November 16, in a cruiserweight unification bout in Riyadh on Latino Night. The 34-year-old WBO champion Billiam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) will face WBA champion Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) in a 12-round fight, with the winner likely to face IBF champion Jai Opetaia. in a three-belt unification afterwards.

(Credit Golden Boy/Cris Esqueda)

Battle of the Huggers in the Main Event

Zurdo Ramirez and Billiam-Smith are under a lot of pressure to entertain, as neither is known for their entertaining style. Billiam-Smith, 34, is a decisive player and doesn’t possess much power.

His recent fights have been very boring to watch, but not as bad as Zurdo’s in that regard. Both are what you call’Hugs‘, and it’s eye poison for the average fan. I absolutely hate this fight with my entire being. I wish it would go away, sending it to the Sagittarius A center.

The undercard fights are great, but only the Ramirez-Billiam-Smith fight seems out of place. If it was me making the decision on Golden Boy, I would bury it and focus on promoting the other fights.

The winner of the Ramirez vs. Billiam-Smith fight is considered the next victim for the IBF champion Jai Opetaiawho is on another level, talented and power-wise, than either of those guys. What we essentially see on Saturday night is that Opetaia’s next victim is decided, which takes away a lot of the interest.

Golden Boy placed this fight in the main event because it’s a unification, but it’s a match that didn’t generate much interest from American fans, who still remember Ramirez of his one-sided defeat against Dmitry Bivol in 2022.

It would have been wiser to place Ramirez vs. Billiam-Smith on the undercard below these fights:

1. William Zepeda vs. Tevin Farmer
2. Oscar Duarte vs. Botirzhon Akhmedov
3. José Ramírez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr.

Although Ramirez, 33, has reinvented himself by winning his last two contests, he has adopted a boring and enjoyable punch-and-move style. Obviously, Ramirez had no choice as he did not possess the power to stand up and trade at cruiserweight like he did at 175 and 168.

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya is I’m trying to make Ramirez a starbut this is unlikely to happen. He has been a professional for 15 years, about to turn 34. If Ramirez hasn’t achieved stardom by this point, he never will.

The southpaw Ramirez won his last two fights, defeating a very slow 36-year-old WBA cruiserweight champion, Arsen Goulamirian, by a 12-round unanimous decision on March 30 to become two-division world champion and Joe Smith Jr.

Chris Billiam-Smith’s Recent Wins

Richard Riakporhe
Mateusz Masternak
Laurent Okolié
Isaac Chamberlain

“At the top of the bill, you currently have two of the best cruiserweights in the world battling it out for two belts with the likelihood of facing the No. 1 cruiserweight in the world. Jai Opetaia will be following this fight very closely,” commentator Chris Mannix told DAZN Boxingspeaking about Saturday’s fight between WBC champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and WBO champion Chris Billiam-Smith in the main event.

“Zurdo has had a tremendous run in a short time, winning a world title in only his second fight in the weight class (against 36-year-old WBA cruiserweight champion Arsen Goulamirian on March 30, 2024).

Why Zurdo’s career didn’t flourish

– low CV
– Lack of power
– No charisma
– Not mastering the English language
– Boring fighting style

“Chris Billiam-Smith is a long-time cruiserweight who is just starting to make a name for himself (at age 34). These two fighters are awesome. It’s going to be a big clash of styles,” Mannix said.