At a launch press conference in Los Angeles, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith previewed their championship bout and went face-to-face for the first time. The pair battles it out in the main event of “Latino Night” at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 16.
The contest is set to crown a new two-belt unified champion at cruiserweight. Mexico’s Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) holds WBA 200 lbs title. Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) is a WBO champion.
“I’m really excited to be here, to be a part of the Latino night,” Gilberto Ramirez said. “I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion.”
“It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16. I’ve been putting everything into training, a lot of work, hard work.”
Chris Billam-Smith said: “This opportunity for me is huge. It’s a unification like Ben [Shalom] spoke about. I’ve been written off many times before. Last time out against Richard Riakporhe. I was going into his backyard, his soccer stadium, and it was all about him, and it was his night, and I went and scored the party.
“And unfortunately for the Latinos, on November 16, I’ll be doing exactly the same again. All respect to ‘Zurdo’ and see you on Friday night.”
In the 12-round co-main event, Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) faces Arnold Barboza Jr (30-0, 11 KOs). The contest pits the former unified light welterweight champion of Hanford, CA against and the undefeated contender of Los Angeles. The bout serves as the WBO super lightweight title eliminator.
“It’s a fight that I’ve been wanting since 2019,” Arnold Barboza Jr said. “I respect Jose Ramirez, the fighter. I respect Jose Ramirez, the person. But this is personal. Like I said, I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened. I’ve tried every form. I called him out so many times. So that didn’t work out. I’m coming with everything.”
Jose Ramirez said: “It’s a great fight. I’m looking forward to it. It’s time for me to make a statement. And this is one of those fights where I’m going to make a statement and get those belts back. I’m ready for this mentally. I’ve been under the lights, the big lights, and I have the experience, and I have the strength.”
“I think my biggest enemy in the sport of boxing was my inactivity. The last time I fought twice was in 2019 and that’s when I successfully defended my WBC and unified titles, knocking out [Maurice] Hooker. So the goal was to always become undisputed, which I got there.”
“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles, it’s time to get that fight on.”
Among other Zurdo vs Billam-Smith undercard bouts, unbeaten William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) of Mexico goes up against Philadelphia’s former world champion Tevin Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) in a 10-rounder at lightweight. As well, Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KOs) of Mexico takes on Kenneth Sims Jr. (21-2-1, 8 KOs) of Chicago in a 12-round WBA super lightweight title eliminator.
In addition, Oscar Collazo and Thammanoon Niyomtrong aka Knockout CP Freshmart meet in a 12-round flyweight championship unification with two belts at stake. Puerto Rico’s Collazo (10-0, 7 KOs) puts on the line his WBO title. Niyomtrong (25-0, 9 KOs) of Thailand brings to the ring his WBA strap.