Gilberto Ramirez won't let Chris Billam-Smith derail his heavyweight plans

Cruiserweight belt holders Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Chris “The Gentleman” Billam-Smith will square off Saturday in a title unification bout headlining Golden Boy Promotions’ “Latino Night” event in Saudi Arabia. 

The WBA boss Ramirez, 46-1 (30 KOs), is coming into the clash confident as ever after dethroning Arsen Goulamirian in March.

“He better make sure he’s coming prepared to fight because I’m going to take the belt,” Ramirez told BoxingScene after a recent sparring session at the Brickhouse Boxing Club in North Hollywood, California, before heading to the Middle East. “I'm going to put on a great show and make history by becoming a unified cruiserweight champion.

“I feel comfortable in the weight class. This is my division. I'm bigger, stronger, better and faster than him. I'm ready to take his belt.”

Billam-Smith, 20-1 (13 KOs), the WBO titleholder, is certainly no pushover. He won the crown in 2023 by scoring an upset majority decision versus Lawrence Okolie. He defended the title against Mateusz Masternak and then exacted revenge in his rematch with Richard Riakporhe in June. 

Ramirez, a 33-year-old from Mazatlan, Mexico, is envisioning a resounding win and then yet another title unification bout against IBF titleholder Jai Opateia. He would also welcome a clash against countryman Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who’s long considered a run at a cruiserweight crown before moving on to even bigger plans. 

“I've been preparing my whole life for this moment,” said Ramirez. “I'm a complete fighter and I have been proving myself. This is the right path to take to become undisputed cruiserweight champion and then move up to heavyweight."

Ramirez’s head coach Julian Chua said his southpaw charge will carry the momentum to best the Brit Billam-Smith. 

“Zurdo is better than him in almost every avenue,” Chua told BoxingScene. “We're going to keep the fight the way we want to fight. Billam-Smith is going to want to impose his will because that's how he fights. Our plan is to let him fall on his sword when he does.

“Billam-Smith is a gritty and high-volume fighter who has different strengths and we're going to take away his efficiencies. We'll be ready. We're going to keep the fight the way we want to fight.  

“We have tremendous respect for Billam-Smith and his team and he's the kind of guy that's hard not to root for in previous fights. He's pulled off beautiful upsets. But his streak ends here.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.