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Gilberto Ramirez vs. Chris Billam-Smith; full card preview, date, time and how to watch

Written by Tom Eaton on 31st October 2024.

Gilberto Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith Riyadh Season

Gilberto Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith are set to go toe-to-toe in the latest instalment of ‘Riyadh Season’ as the two cruiserweight champions set out to unify their belts in the 200lb division. Topping a stellar card, the main-event is expected to be yet another razor-tight affair in the Kingdom and we at Boxing Social have decided to take a deep dive into both that contest and the other bouts on the ‘Latino Night’ bill.

In the opener of the main card, WBA #2 Kenneth Sims Jr. (21-2-1) was supposed to take on WBA #9 Oscar Duarte (27-2-1), seven months after Duarte bounced back from defeat to Ryan Garcia with a career-best knockout win against Joseph Diaz.

However, 2013 U.S. national amateur champion, Sims Jr. has now withdrawn because of an undisclosed injury and has been placed by two-time world title challenger and former sparring partner of Duarte’s, Batyr Akhmedov (10-3), who has stopped his opponent in all but one of his ten career victories.

One of Akhmedov’s three career defeats came at the hands of Sims Jr. – to whom he lost a majority-decision to in a fight of the year candidate, whilst his other losses were controversial ones that came in world title contests against Mario Barrios and Alberto Puello respectively.

Meanwhile, Duarte’s fights also have a habit of catching fire and could provide Akhmedov with the chance to prove that his record is a deceptive one if he and the Mexican end up going toe-to-toe in a hard-hitting shootout. ‘La Migrana’ has not gone the distance in his last thirteen contests, with a defeat to Ryan Garcia separating twelve stoppage wins, so he too will fancy his chances of a victory inside of the distance.

On paper, this meeting is one that is unlikely to require the judges intervention and is one that could steal the show, as WBA #15 Akhmedov seeks to capitalise as a late-notice replacement and edge towards another shot at world honours.

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Next up is one of two world title fights on the card, as Oscar Collazo (10-0) and Thammanoon Niyomtrong (25-0) collide in a minimumweight unification bout for their WBO and WBA straps.

Puerto Rican Collazo is the latest victim to file amongst the under-appreciated and unrecognised talents across the lower weight divisions, showing tremendous skill and knockout power since turning professional in 2020.

‘El Pupilo’ halted Melvin Jerusalem last year to claim world honours in his seventh pro contest and has made three defences in the 17 months that have followed. At 5’2”, Collazo may struggle to progress through the weight-classes like those of similar talent have done in the past, but there is every chance that the 27-year-old can dominate between 105lbs and 112lbs for years to come.

Niyomtrong is the man hoping to prevent a possible undisputed title run for Collazo and the Thai will be confident that he can pull off the upset. Also known as ‘Knockout CP Freshmart’ and ‘Little Pacquiao’, the 34-year-old is the longest reigning minimumweight champion in history and has held the WBA trinket for almost a decade.

Collazo will step through the ropes as a sizeable favourite against the undefeated long-standing champion and that speaks volumes of his ability. Whether he will be able to deliver on these high expectations remains to be seen.

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Shakur Stevenson is widely expected to face-off with William Zepeda (31-0) for the WBC lightweight in early 2025 but ‘Camaron’ must first get past former IBF super-featherweight champion Tevin Farmer (33-6-1).

Famed for his exciting style and relentless output, Zepeda broke a 21-year punch record when threw a mind-boggling 1,536 punches during a decision win over Joseph Diaz in November 2022 and his reputation has only grown since with four consecutive knockout wins.

Earlier this year, Zepeda comfortably stopped Maxi Hughes, who arguably defeated George Kambosos Jr. in the fight prior, before doing the same to Giovanni Cabrera, who recently lost a split-decision to current WBA super-lightweight champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz.

Those wins have convinced the boxing universe that the Mexican contender is ready for his shot at the 135lb throne and that he could be the man to hand Stevenson a first career defeat and fans are expectant of yet another show-stopping knockout against Farmer on this card.

As for Farmer himself, the 34-year-old returned to the sport after a three-year hiatus last summer and soon scored three wins. Although, that streak was brought to an end when Farmer lost out to Raymond Muratallla in a closer fight than was anticipated back in July.

Farmer’s meeting with Zepeda is likely to be his last shot at potentially becoming a multi-weight world champion – but he has an almighty task ahead of him and he will enter the ring as a huge underdog on the night.

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The co-main event is another where a world title opportunity, or possibly even a world title, awaits the winner, as Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-1) faces Arnold Barboza Jr. (30-0) in a WBO 140lb title eliminator.

Ramirez was trumped by Josh Taylor in a bid for the undisputed super-lightweight title back in 2021 but has been able to bounce back since and has scored three victories, all of which came close to home at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California.

As a result, Ramirez now finds himself well ranked amongst all other sanctioning bodies but it is Arnold Barboza’s position as WBO mandatory challenger and a future clash with Teofimo Lopez that he is eyeing up.

Barboza Jr. was fortunate to be on the right side of one of the most controversial scorecards of 2024 when he somehow claimed a split-decision win against Belfast’s Sean McComb on his most recent outing and he will be hoping that he can re-establish himself as a worthy title challenger with a career-best win against Ramirez.

To date, Barboza only holds a win over one former world champion in his 30 career victories – that coming against former super-featherweight and lightweight champion Jose Pedraza, who Ramirez has also defeated.

Now, against a proven and respected former super-lightweight champion, it will be intriguing to see whether Barboza’s performance against McComb was an off-night or if it exposed his record to be a carefully crafted one.

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Finally, we come to the main attraction of the eventing, where Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (46-1) aims to unify his WBA cruiserweight strap with Chris Billam-Smith’s (20-1) WBO crown.

After becoming WBO super-middleweight champion with a win over the well-respected Arthur Abraham in 2016. Ramirez went on to make five defences of his title before progressing up to 175lbs.

His eye-catching record stretched to 44-0 in the light-heavyweight division ahead of a showdown against Dmitry Bivol in 2022 but it was the Russian who was able to take control of the affair and cruise to a unanimous-decision win.

Following that first career defeat, Ramirez opted to progress further up the weight divisions and was able to outpoint Arsen Goulamirian 118-110 across all three scorecards for the WBA cruiserweight title back in March, continuing to use his rangy arms and boxing skill to outfox his opponent even in the highest weight-classes.

In the opposing corner will be fan-favourite Chris Billam-Smith, who has been able to continuously pull off upset wins and make a fool of the bookmakers. There was little hope that the Bournemouth-born sensation was good enough to achieve success beyond the British and European level up until 2023 but ‘The Gentleman’ soon proved his doubters wrong.

At the stadium of his beloved A.F.C. Bournemouth, CBS rocked the cruiserweight division with a fairytale victory over former sparring partner and reigning undefeated WBO world champion Lawrence Okolie – flooring ‘The Sauce’ on three occasions on his way to a majority-decision triumph.

Yet, it his perhaps the fact that Billam-Smith has been able to defend the strap against tough contenders on two occasions that has proven to be the bigger shock, overcoming Mateusz Masternak before a decision win over Richard Riakporhe – for which he was considered the underdog once again.

The naysayers are becoming few and far between for Billam-Smith these days but Ramirez represents his most difficult test to date. A further unification bout against IBF title-holder Jai Opetaia is supposedly waiting for the victor but whom that may be is anybody’s guess.

When?

The card will take place at in The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, November 16th with the undercard expected to begin around 7pm (BST), whilst Ramirez and Billam-Smith are poised to take centre stage around 10:30pm (BST).

How To Watch

The full event will be available to watch as a part of a standard DAZN subscription, which can be purchased flexibly at £19.99 per month, or for a price of £9.99 per month as a part of a one-year subscription.

Running Order

  • Baytr Akhmedov (10-3) vs. Oscar Duarte Jurado (27-2-1) – Super-Lightweight
  • Oscar Collazo (10-0) vs. Thammanoon Niyomtrong (25-0) – WBO & WBA Minimumweight Titles
  • William Zepeda (31-0) vs. Tevin Farmer (33-6-1) – WBC Interim Lightweight Title
  • Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-1) vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. (30-0) – WBO Super-Lightweight Eliminator
  • Gilberto Ramirez (46-1) vs. Chris Billam-Smith (20-1) – WBA & WBO Cruiserweight Titles

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