Chris Billam-Smith praises Gilberto Ramirez ahead of potential unification bout

Chris Billam-Smith’s possible next opponent isn’t undefeated, and he isn’t a natural cruiserweight. Those are two possible critiques that people may have for Gilberto Ramirez.

But Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) — who, as those numbers show, has a loss of his own — had some good words for Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs). The WBO and WBA titleholders are in negotiations for a potential unification match in November – a suitable substitute in lieu of a fight between Billam-Smith and Jai Opetaia (the lineal champ, who also has the IBF title).

The 34-year-old from Bournemouth, England, was asked about “Zurdo” during an interview with Sky Sports’ Ringside Toe2Toe Boxing Podcast.

“Obviously his only previous defeat is to [Dmitriy] Bivol, who some think is the best light heavyweight in the world and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” Billam-Smith said. “You can’t just go, ‘Oh, he shouldn’t be at my weight because his only loss is to someone who’s technically very sound and a phenomenal fighter.’ You can’t just write him off like that.”

Ramirez, a 33-year-old from Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, spent some of his early years as a middleweight, then moved up to 168 and won a world title from Arthur Abraham in 2016. He later moved up to light heavyweight, fighting there from April 2019 until November 2022, when he challenged Bivol for a world title and lost a wide decision. Ramirez moved up to cruiserweight a year ago, outpointing Joe Smith Jr. last October and then unseating Arsen Goulamirian this April for the WBA belt. 

““I think his feet have probably slowed a bit, naturally with the extra weight,” Billam-Smith said. “But he’s very busy, got good lean-backs, [and] his actual punch output is really impressive. He’s got great variety. He’s obviously a southpaw. He’s got it all there. He’s got a phenomenal chin. Goulamirian was hitting him clean and he was just firing back.”

Billam-Smith lost a split decision to Richard Riakporhe in 2019 when both were prospects but worked his way back up the rankings, defeating Lawrence Okolie in May 2023 for the WBO belt. Billam-Smith has since made two defenses, stopping Mateusz Masternak in December and then winning a unanimous decision in a rematch with Riakporhe in June.

Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.