Chris Billam-Smith faces Gilberto Ramirez in a unification of the WBO and WBA cruiserweight world championships on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Mix from 5pm; Billam-Smith avenged his only career defeat when he beat Richard Riakaporhe at Selhurst Park in June
Tuesday 12 November 2024 14:27, UK
Chris Billam-Smith's world cruiserweight title unification fight with Gilberto Ramirez this Saturday is live on Sky Sports.
Britain's Billam-Smith, the WBO champion, takes on WBA titlist Ramirez in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a hugely significant fight for the weight division, with live coverage from 5pm on Sky Sports Mix.
"Zurdo" Ramirez is a formidable opponent. He was the first Mexican to become a super-middleweight and cruiserweight world champion and is looking to take over the 200lb division.
He has only lost once in his career, to great light-heavyweight Dmitry Bivol.
But Billam-Smith is in a rich vein of form himself. Most recently he avenged his only previous loss in a successful world title defence against Richard Riakporhe.
That was Billam-Smith's third consecutive victory in a world championship contest.
"It's an exciting unification fight against someone who has only been beaten by Bivol," Billam-Smith said.
"It's a very hard test and it would be an honour for me to become unified champion."
Ramirez said: "I'm excited to make this fight happen with Chris Billam-Smith. It's been a long time coming, and I'm looking forward to becoming the unified champion in this division.
"I've always said this was my division and I'm happy for the opportunity to showcase my skills at this level on a global stage in Riyadh.
"It's truly an honour to be a Mexican warrior and to showcase what true Mexican boxing is all about while bringing my culture to a global audience."
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