Billam-Smith vs. Ramirez

Gilberto Ramirez vs. Chris Billam-Smith:
Ramirez wins by UD.

Jose Carlos Ramirez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr:
Barboza Jr wins by UD.

William Zepeda Segura vs. Tevin Farmer:
Zepeda wins by SD.

Oscar Collazo vs. Thammanoon Niyomtrong:
Collazo wins by TKO in the 7th round.

Oscar Duarte Jurado vs. Botirzhon Akhmedov:
Duarte Jurado wins by UD.

Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Juan Carlos Ramirez Garcia:
Draw by MD.

The cruiserweight unification bout between Chris Billam-Smith and Gilberto Ramirez is set in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Turki Alalshikh, the driving force behind Riyadh Season’s various boxing events, confirmed the show through a press release.

Notably, thanks to Turki Alalshikh the card will be broadcast globally for FREE on DAZN!

Billam-Smith, the reigning WBO world cruiserweight champion, comes into the fight after defeating Lawrence Okolie to claim the title in May 2023. He has since made two successful defenses, including a win over Mateusz Masternak and avenging his only career loss against Richard Riakporhe in June. The 34-year-old British fighter has expressed admiration for his opponent, Ramirez.

Watch Billam-Smith vs. Riakporhe highlights: Watch

Gilberto Ramirez, a former middleweight and super middleweight world champion, moved up to cruiserweight after a stint at light heavyweight, where he lost to Dmitry Bivol in a world title fight. Since then, Ramirez has outpointed Joe Smith Jr. and dethroned Arsen Goulamirian in April to win the WBA cruiserweight belt.

The undercard is equally exciting. Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) faces Arnold Barboza (30-0, 11 KOs) in a WBO title eliminator, with the winner earning a shot at Teofimo Lopez's title. Ramirez, a former unified champion, has been on a strong comeback trail, while Barboza remains undefeated.

Watch Barboza Jr. vs. McComb highlights: Watch

William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) will take on Tevin Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) in a lightweight clash. Zepeda, a rising star in the division, has been racking up knockouts, while Farmer is looking to rebound after a recent loss.

Other bouts include a WBO strawweight title defense by Oscar Collazo (10-0, 7 KOs) against Edwin Hernandez (13-2-1, 4 KOs), and a junior welterweight showdown between Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KOs) and Kenneth Sims (21-2-1, 8 KOs). Sims has been on a tear with eight consecutive wins, including victories over high-profile opponents like Elvis Rodriguez and Batyr Akhmedov.

Fight card:

▪️Gilberto Ramirez vs. Chris Billam-Smith, 12 rounds, for Ramirez’s WBA and Billam-Smith’s cruiserweight titles
▪️Jose Ramirez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr, 12 rounds, super lightweight – WBO title eliminator
▪️William Zepeda vs. Tevin Farmer, 10 rounds, lightweight
▪️Oscar Collazo vs. Thammanoon Niyomtrong, 12 rounds, for Collazo’s WBO and Niyomtrong’s WBA minimumweight titles
▪️Oscar Duarte vs. Botirzhon Akhmedov, 12 rounds, super lightweight
▪️Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Juan Carlos Ramirez Garcia, 6 rounds, welterweight