Billam-Smith in Quest to Unify Cruiserweight Belts
Chris Billam-Smith will be attempting to follow in David Haye’s footsteps by becoming a British unified cruiserweight world champion.
Despite his fight being one of the biggest in boxing, it has quietly gone under the radar recently, drowned out by the embarrassment of riches fight fans have been served up over the last few weeks.
Now the dust is settling, we can turn our attention to the cruiserweight unification bout that is going to take place between Chris Billam-Smith and Gilberto Ramirez on November 16th. It’s part of the Riyadh season programme, which has already served up some top quality fights.
Since Usyk stepped up to heavyweight, there’s been a power vacuum in the division. No one man can truly claim to be the top dog at the moment, so this is a chance for both men to make an early move to establish themselves as the best in the division.
It’s a tough fight to call.
Ramirez brings the experience, but he’s only recently made the move to the cruiserweight division in the late stages of his career. He hasn’t won by knockout since 2022, so there are question marks over whether or not his punching power can transfer to the heavier weight categories.
Billam-Smith is the bigger guy, and has spent years in the cruiserweight division. He’s long established himself as the best UK cruiserweight, with wins over domestic rivals Isaac Chamberlain, Lawrence Okolie and Richard Riakporhe. With a couple of defences of his WBO title, now’s the time to see how he stacks up against the other title holders.
Experience May Count Against Billam-Smith
Ramirez comes into the bout with a wealth of experience. He’s been a two-weight world title holder and no stranger to the big occasion. He’ll be hoping this experience will help him on his way to unifying the belts.
Billam-Smith is still somewhat of an unknown on the biggest stages. His record is solid, but he’s spent his entire career as a domestic fighter, never fighting outside of the UK in the professional ranks. Might that be an issue?
Both men are capable of winning this fight, so it’ll be a case of whoever gets it right on the night. Billam-Smith is the more natural cruiserweight and has less mileage on the clock, but Ramirez brings the experience and the Mexican fighting spirit.
It’s a chance for Billam-Smith, a late bloomer, to put his name out at the top of the sport.
What we know for certain is that the winner of this will set up a much bigger fight against Jai Opetaia, whose recent demolition job on Jack Massey sent a message to the rest of the division.
Keep your eyes on this fight – it could set up a very interesting future contest.
