Now the holder of two cruiserweight world titles, Mexican warrior Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez wants more. Last night, in a truly great fight where both men gave their all, Ramirez won a 12-round shoot-out, with defending WBO champ Chris Billam-Smith literally baring his soul as he dug in and showed unimaginable heart and courage as he took flush punch after flush punch to make it to the final bell.
In the end, Ramirez, who entered the ring as the defending WBA cruiserweight champ, added the WBO strap to his growing collection via scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 116-113. Now 47-1(30), the sole loss coming on points to Dmitry Bivol down at 175 pounds, Ramirez has big plans for the future. “C.B.S,” as Billam-Smith is known, fought his heart out; he warred with a nasty cut hampering his vision, and he will no doubt try to come again. The gutsy British warrior is now 20-2(13).
Ramirez, in his prime now at age 33, called for a unification fight after warring with Billam-Smith, and this, of course, means a fight with IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight boss Jai Opetaia. All we fight fans can say about such a proposition is yes, please! Who wins, and how if/when these two 200-pounders rumble? Ramirez was ruthless last night, dishing out plenty of hurt on Billam-Smith, with only the defending WBO champion’s astonishing combination of chin and heart keeping him in there.
Can Ramirez land as much hurt on Opetaia, and if so, can the Australian warrior take it? Then again, Opetaia, 26-0(20) can crack himself and he too has good skills and a powerful desire to win. If, or when, Ramirez and Opetaia get it on, it could prove to be Fight of the Year material. First, Opetaia has a mandatory defense against Huseyin Cinkara of Germany. But after that, assuming he wins, Opetai could be swapping leather with “Zurdo.” And what a genuinely 50-50 fight this one really is.
In another possible move, Ramirez speaks of the possibility of moving up to heavyweight one day, and the tall Mexican expresses great interest in a fight with Oleksandr Usyk. It’s not clear what Usyk might do after his rematch with Tyson Fury, win, lose, or draw, but Usyk did say not too long ago that he might drop back down to cruiserweight after doing all he needs to do at heavyweight. We shall see.
But for now, Ramirez aims to unify the cruiserweight division, and this will keep the weight division in good shape as far as good action fights go. Ramirez could also fight reigning WBC champ Norair Mikaeljan. It’s that showdown between Ramirez and Opetai that really gets us excited, though.
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