Gilberto Ramirez vs Chris Billam-Smith preview: Can the Brit spoil the Latino party?
Smith fights Ramirez on a Golden Boy Promotions card in Saudi Arabia
Chris Billam-Smith will fight Gilberto Ramirez on enemy territory in a bid to become a unified cruiserweight world champion.
Despite tomorrow night’s contest for the WBO and WBA titles taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the show is hosted by Golden Boy Promotions who will be hoping each of their latin fighters emerge victorious.
The card is filled with hispanic talent such as William Zepeda, Oscar Collazo, Oscar Duarte and Arnold Barboza Jr with Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) looking to finish the latino party with a win.
However, Smith (20-1, 13 KOs), 34, is no stranger to overcoming the odds and causing an upset.
Since teaming up with trainer Shane McGuigan, Smith has exceeded expectations in the boxing fraternity.
‘The Gentleman’ made his dream come true when he beat Lawrence Okolie in his home city of Bournemouth to become a world champion.
This was before he avenged the sole loss of his career with a points victory over Richard Riakporhe last June at Selhurst Park Football Ground.
Still, the Brit has sometimes been guilty of trailing on the scorecards and mounting a late comeback.
Last December, Mateusz Masternak was up on two of three judges' scorecards against Smith and was set to triumph, before the Pole retired due to a rib injury in the eighth round.
Therefore, as the away fighter, Smith cannot afford to start slow or allow Ramirez to have a big lead on points upon entering into the second half of the contest.
Ramirez has never been knocked out and the Mexican southpaw is likely to get the nod from the judges in a tight affair.
‘Zurdo’, who began most of his career at super middleweight, captured a world title at cruiserweight in only his second bout in the division, outpointing Arsen Goulamirian in March.
This was after the 33-year-old claimed a ten-round decision over former light heavyweight world champion Joe Smith Jr.
Furthermore, when campaigning at 168 lbs, Ramirez held the WBO world title for around two years, overcoming the likes of Arthur Abraham, Roamer Alexis Angulo and Jesse Hart.
Yet, at the elite level, Ramirez was outclassed by Dmitry Bivol and failed to capture a world title at light heavyweight.
And it’s plausible Ramirez will be the smaller man in the ring against Smith who is a career-long cruiserweight.
Regardless, at the final press conference Oscar De La Hoya revealed that Oleksandr Usyk is thinking about moving down from heavyweight after his rematch with Tyson Fury on December 21.
So, the winner of Ramirez-Smith, could be in line for a lucrative fight against the pound-for-pound superstar.
Who is the favourite for Gilberto Ramirez vs Chris Billam-Smith?
Ramirez is touted by the bookies to defeat Smith as the home boxer who has arguably looked more impressive in his last two bouts.
Neither Ramirez or Smith are known for being massive punchers, so it’s likely the fight will go to a decision.
Ramirez and Smith have respective knockout percentages of 65.22% and 65%.
However, Ramirez scored a fourth round knockout against Dominic Boesel in 2022 while Smith knocked out Armend Xhoxhaj in the same year.
Overall, Ramirez is the rightful favourite, but a Smith victory is possible.
