Cruiserweight title unification: WBA champ Gilberto Ramirez faces Chris Billam-Smith at Riyadh Season “Latino Night” in November
On November 16, the highly anticipated cruiserweight unification fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. WBA title holder Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith will clash on “Latino Night” as part of the Riyadh Season. This was confirmed by Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, and Oscar De La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.
Riyadh season “Latino Night” as a backdrop
The event, themed Riyadh Season “Latino Night”, will be accompanied by several high-profile fights. “We are excited to kick off our partnership with Golden Boy Promotions with ‘Latino Night’,” said Alalshikh. He emphasized that the evening will showcase some of the best Latin American fighters and give fans worldwide what they want to see. De La Hoya added: “His Excellency Alalshikh and I have the same vision: we want to pit the best fighters against each other and give the fans first-class fights.”
Billam-Smith: Chance of title unification
The 34-year-old Briton Billam-Smith is about to defend his title for the third time. He last defeated his compatriot Richard Riakporhe in June and wiped the slate clean of his only defeat. “It’s exciting to be up against an opponent as strong as Ramirez and to have the chance to become world champion of two federations,” he says of the upcoming fight.
Ramirez: Proud to represent Mexican culture
Gilberto Ramirez, a 33-year-old Mexican southpaw with 46 wins (30 knockouts), enters the ring as the reigning WBA world champion. In April, he defeated Arsen Goulamirian on points and secured the title. Ramirez is looking forward to the challenge: “I’m thrilled to be fighting Chris Billam-Smith. It’s an honor to showcase my Mexican culture on a global stage in Riyadh and show what Mexican boxing is all about”.
A test of strength with a view to the future
To make the fight happen, Ramirez’s team had struck a deal with mandatory challenger and former titleholder Yuniel Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs). The 38-year-old Miami-based Cuban stepped aside for a fee and the promise that he would get the chance to fight the winner. The next step – assuming a win over Dorticos – could see the winner of the unification bout become IBF and BOXSPORT champion Jai Opetaia ‘s next challenger.
Exciting fights on the Latino Night undercard
In addition to the main fight, spectators at the Riyadh Season “Latino Night” can expect other exciting fights. These include former light-welterweight champion José Carlos Ramírez against Arnold Barboza in a WBO eliminator and William Zepeda against Tevin Farmer. Oscar Collazo will also defend his WBO strawweight title against Edwin Cano Hernandez. Finally, Oscar Duarte will face Kenneth Sims Jr. in a WBA junior middleweight eliminator.
Free livestream worldwide
Although the broadcast platform has not yet been officially announced, Alalshikh says the fight will be available to watch for free worldwide. One of the favorites is likely to be DAZN, which has already streamed all previous events of the Riyadh Season.