Zurdo vs Billam-Smith set for November in Saudi Arabia
Jose Ramirez vs Arnold Barboza Jr will be the chief support.
Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith will meet in a cruiserweight title unification, headlining a Golden Boy-branded event on Nov. 16 in Saudi Arabia.
The chief support on the card will be a WBO 140 lb eliminator between Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza, with William Zepeda also in action against Tevin Farmer.
Zurdo Ramirez (46-1, 30 KO) will defend his WBA title against the WBO belt held by Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KO) in what really is a good matchup between two fighters who can be exciting to watch.
Zurdo, a former 168 lb titleholder and 175 lb title challenger, won his belt on Mar. 30 from Arsen Goulamirian, while Billam-Smith took the WBO belt from Lawrence Okolie in May 2023 and has made successful defenses against Mateusz Masternak and Richard Riakporhe.
Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KO) and Barboza (30-0, 11 KO) both jumped to Golden Boy from Top Rank not too long ago. Ramirez last fought on Apr. 27, beating Rances Barthelemy over 12 in a terrific fight, while Barboza was last seen on Apr. 20, getting a debated decision over Sean McComb.
Zepeda (31-0, 27 KO) is expected to challenge for the WBC lightweight title in early 2025, but will stay busy against Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KO), the 34-year-old former 130 lb titleholder who hasn’t had a notable win this decade and is coming off of a July loss to Raymond Muratalla.
Also on the card:
- Oscar Collazo (10-0, 7 KO) will defend his WBO 105 lb title against Edwin Hernandez (13-2-1, 4 KO)
- Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KO) will take on Kenneth Sims Jr (21-2-1, 8 KO) in a WBA eliminator at 140 lbs
The press release notes that the show “will be broadcast for free globally,” with “further details” of exactly where to watch coming later, so it sounds like it will not be on DAZN, which even with a few of these fights being solid, might be the most interesting bit of information.