Notebook: 'Zurdo' vs. Billam-Smith unification fight in works
Bout would top Riyadh Season non-PPV card; Inoue's next defense already in the works; Beterbiev-Bivol update; Azim-Davies set; officials assigned for Canelo-Berlanga; Quick hits; Show and tell
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A cruiserweight unification fight between WBA titlist Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and WBO counterpart Chris Billam-Smith is being finalized to headline a Riyadh Season card on Nov. 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources with knowledge of the deal told Fight Freaks Unite.
The Golden Boy card on DAZN will be the first Riyadh Season non-pay-per-view card and will also include a junior welterweight fight between former unified titlist Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza, a bout that has been agreed to since June and was originally planned for this month in Las Vegas but was never formally announced.
The non-pay-per-view aspect of the card is part of Turki Alalshikh’s newly espoused philosophy of having less pay-per-view and less expensive cards if they are on pay-per-view, such as the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois card on Sept. 21, which is priced at $19.99 in the United States and similarly priced in the United Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s Alalshikh, who oversees the massive sports and entertainment budget for the country’s General Entertainment Authority, which has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into boxing over the past year, referenced the Nov. 16 card in a recent social media post, although he did not mention the specific date or bouts.
Alalshikh said he had spoken to Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya on the phone and decided to do a top-level card with him without pay-per-view. DAZN, which has done all of the Riyadh Season cards on pay-per-view and also has a deal with Golden Boy, will carry the card but Alalshikh said it would also be more widely available.
“We had a long talk,” Alalshikh posted about his conversation with De La Hoya. “Therefore, I decided the card of Latinos Night in Riyadh Season with our partner Golden Boy will be free on TV networks and platforms all around the world. Any TV network or platform and cable TV interested in this event kindly connect with us in Riyadh Season. … We care about boxing fans (so) this card (is) free.”
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Last week, the WBA granted a 10-day postponement for the purse bid for Ramirez’s fight with mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos. This week, the purse bid was canceled because they reached a deal with Dorticos agreeing to step aside, sources told FFU.
Former titleholder Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs), 38, a Miami-based Cuban defector, will be paid a fee similar to what he would have made to fight Ramirez to allow the unification fight to take place with a deal in place for him to receive the first shot at the winner in early 2025, one of the sources said.
Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs), 33, a Mexican southpaw, and former super middleweight titlist, won the cruiserweight belt via lopsided decision from Arsen Goulamirian on April 30 and will make his first defense.
Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs), 34, of England, who is promoted by Boxxer, will make his third defense. He is coming off a highly competitive unanimous decision to retain the title and avenge his only loss to countryman Richard Riakporhe in June.
Billam-Smith confirmed the negotiations for the Ramirez fight in an interview with England’s Sky Sports this week.
“We are in talks for that fight. At the moment it’s the only fight we’re talking about,” Billam-Smith said. “I always said I’d be ready in November or December. At the moment we’re looking at November. We’re working on it. It’s exciting, a unification fight against someone who’s only ever been beaten (by decision in a light heavyweight title fight) by (Dmitry) Bivol. So, it’s a very hard test. It would be an honor for me to fight and become unified champion.”
Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs), 32, of Avenal, California, and Barboza (30-0, 11 KOs), 32, of Los Angeles, who are both managed by Rick Mirigian, spent their careers with Top Rank until leaving via free agency and signing with Golden Boy. They came to terms for the fight in June.
Ramirez has won three fights in a row since losing his only bout, a close decision to Josh Taylor for the undisputed junior welterweight title in 2021. Ramirez won his Golden Boy debut by decision over former titlist Rances Barthelemy on April 27. Barboza has won both of his fights since signing with Golden Boy, most recently a questionable split decision over Sean McComb on April 20 on the Devin Haney-Ryan Garcia pay-per-view undercard.
Mexican knockout artist William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), 28, a southpaw, who is the mandatory challenger for WBC titleholder Shakur Stevenson, is also ticketed for the card.
Stevenson defends the title against Joe Cordina on Oct. 12 in Riyadh on the undercard of the Artur Beterbiev-Bivol undisputed light heavyweight title fight. If Stevenson and Zepeda win their upcoming fights, the plan is for Stevenson and Zepeda to square off next, according to Stevenson promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, Zepeda promoter De La Hoya and Alalshikh.
Another bout that has also been mentioned for the card would pit junior welterweight Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KOs), 28, of Mexico, against Kenneth Sims Jr. (21-2-1, 8 KOs), 30, of Chicago.
In December, Duarte suffered an eighth-round knockout loss to Garcia but bounced back to win his only fight since, a ninth-round knockout of Joseph Diaz Jr. in April. Sims signed with Golden Boy earlier this year and ended a 15-month layoff by knocking out Jonathan Romero in the fifth round on Aug. 10.
Inoue plans next fight
Just days after undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue stopped TJ Doheny in the seventh round for his ninth knockout in a row in a dominant performance on Tuesday in Tokyo, plans for the Japanese pound-for-pound star’s next fight are already in the works.
Top Rank’s Bob Arum, Inoue’s co-promoter, said in the ring after the fight that “The Monster” would next fight in Tokyo in December. At a news conference on Wednesday at the Ohashi Gym in Yokohama, Japan, more details were revealed.
Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs), 31, will defend his four belts on Dec. 24, co-promoter Hideyuki Ohashi announced.
Inoue came out of the fight with Doheny in good health and is pleased to stay active for what will be his sixth fight in two years.
“I’ve had definitely no damage,” Inoue said in translated comments. “I wish to go forward to my next fight in December.”
It remains to be seen who Inoue will face next but it likely to be a mandatory defense, either against Australia’s Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), 25, the IBF and WBO No. 1 contender, or Murodjon Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs), 29, of Uzbekistan, the WBA mandatory challenger and former unified titleholder.
As Arum said in the ring, after the December fight, if Inoue wins, the plan is to bring him to fight in Las Vegas, where the MGM Grand executives are interested in hosting him either at the MGM Grand Garden Arena or T-Mobile Arena.
But there is also a mega all-Japanese fight looming for four-division champion Inoue against WBC bantamweight titlist Junto Nakatani (28-0, 21 KOs), 26, a three-division titlist.
“Before he moves up to fight me, he will have to face my brother Takuma (Inoue, the reigning WBA bantamweight titlist) to conquer the 118-pound category. That’s not easy because Takuma will be a very tough opposition and a thick wall for Nakatani.”
Beterbiev-Bivol on ESPN+
Top Rank made official on Friday what Fight Freaks Unite has previously reported — that ESPN+ will carry the much-anticipated unification fight between three-belt light heavyweight champion Arthur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and WBA titlist Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) on Oct. 12 from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It will be a one-fight fight show on ESPN+ in the United States. The specific start time has not been announced yet.
The Beterbiev-Bivol winner will be the first four-belt undisputed 175-pound champion.
Top Rank, which promotes Beterbiev, owns the American rights to the fight and has said it was important to the company to have ESPN, its broadcast partner, offer the fight on a non-pay-per-view basis.
“The epic matchup has been a long time coming, and I can’t wait until these two legends of the ring meet,” Arum said. “I am thrilled that American fans can view the fight on ESPN+, a tremendous platform that consistently shows the biggest and best bouts.”
Beterbiev and Bivol were scheduled to fight on June 1, but Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus in training. Bivol fought Malik Zinad on that date instead, scoring a sixth-round knockout. Beterbiev has been idle since January, when he knocked out former super middleweight titlist Callum Smith.
The rest of the Beterbiev-Bivol card will be offered as a DAZN PPV in the U.S. The entire card will be a DAZN PPV around the rest of the world. It includes fights such as WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson defending against Joe Cordina; middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. against Kamil Szeremta; the heavyweight rematch of the draw between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke; and lineal/IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia against Jack Massey.
Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, who oversees the Riyadh Season cards, has said he wants to lower pay-per-view prices and that this one will cost only $15 in the U.S. and £15 in the United Kingdom.
Azim to face Davies
Fast-rising junior welterweight Adam Azim will step up in opposition and face British countryman Ohara Davies on Oct. 19 (Peacock in U.S., Sky Sports in U.K.) at the Copper Box Arena in London, Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom announced.
Azim (11-0, 8 KOs), 22, who recently vacated the European title, was slated to face unbeaten countryman Harlem Eubank in June but Azim suffered an injury and the fight was never rescheduled. Now it is on to Davies.
“I can’t wait to get back in the ring and back to what I do best. It was a great honor to win and defend the European title but now I’m ready for my next challenge,” Azim said. “I’ve known Ohara Davies for many years. I respect him and what he’s achieved in the sport but when we meet in the ring, he’s just another opponent and another step on my journey to the top.
“He’s a good fighter. I think our styles will make for an exciting fight but there’s only going to be one outcome. I’m ready to make a statement and show everybody that I’m ready for the biggest names in the division.”
Davies (25-3, 18 KOs), 32, is a step up for Azim, although he is coming off a horrendous loss. In his first fight since signing with Golden Boy Promotions, Davies came to the United States in January and suffered an upset first-round knockout loss to Ismael Barroso in a vacant WBA interim 140-pound title bout, after which Davies made myriad excuses for the loss.
“I’m excited for this fight,” Davies said. “I like Adam Azim. I’ve known him since he was very young and it’s amazing to see his success so far in boxing. I followed him in the amateurs, and I’ve always respected him. But he isn’t a kid anymore. He’s grown into a man with massive potential. And that’s why it’s a shame that I have to hand him his first defeat. No needle, no hate, I want us to go back to our families happy and healthy after the fight. But this is where it all changes for him. I’m sorry Adam. This is where it ends.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked two fights on a slow weekend: Sam Noakes’ European lightweight title defense against Gianluca Ceglia in the Queensberry Promotions main event on Friday in London and WBA strawweight titlist Thammanoon Niyomtrong’s defense against Alex Winwood on Saturday in Perth, Australia. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Referee Harvey Dock will be the third person in the ring for the fight between unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The judges will be Max De Luca, David Sutherland and Steve Weisfeld. For the co-feature, WBA middleweight titlist Erislandy Lara against Danny Garcia, Thomas Taylor will serve as referee and Tim Cheatham, Don Trella and Patricia Morse Jarman will be the judges. The appointments were made at the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s recent monthly meeting.
Heavyweight Johnny Fisher suffered an injury and his main event against Andriy Rudenko is off the Matchroom Boxing card on Sept. 28 (DAZN) at Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield, England. However, Matchroom Boxing announced the card will still move forward with the co-feature being elevated to headliner status as Rhiannon Dixon (10-0, 1 KOs), 29, will make her first defense of the WBO women’s lightweight title against fellow Brit and two-division titlist Terri Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs), 27.
Golden Boy announced it has signed three-division titleholder Yokasta Valle (31-3, 10 KOs), 33, of Costa Rica, to a contract extension. “To be able to continue to work with the best promotional company motivates me to become a world champion again, and to continue my path to becoming undisputed,” said Valle, who lost her two belts by decision to Seniesa Estrada in their four-belt strawweight unification fight for the undisputed title in March before rebounding with a win in July. Said Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya: “Yokasta has already had an incredible career as a world champion in multiple weight classes and I strongly believe that she is just getting started. Yokasta knows that she will be a world champion once again, and everyone in the lighter weight divisions should consider themselves on notice.”
The fight between WBC bridgerweight titlist Lawrence Okolie and interim titlist Kevin Lerena will go back to a purse bid because the deal they made in July has fallen through, the WBC announced. They have until Sept. 20 to make a new deal or the purse bid will be that day in London. They initially made a deal hours before a purse bid was scheduled in early July. Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs), 31, of England, a former cruiserweight titlist, moved up to the 224-pound division and on May 24 blew away Lukasz Rozanski in the first round to win the belt on Rozanski’s turf in Poland. Lerena (30-3, 14 KOs), 32, a South African southpaw, is coming off a 10-round decision loss to Justis Huni in at heavyweight in March but in his previous bout he outpointed Senad Gashi in November in South Africa for the vacant interim belt.
Former junior middleweight titlist Tony Harrison (29-4-1, 21 KOs), 34, of Detroit, announced he will return to the ring on Oct. 26 in Dallas. He will fight an opponent to be announced in an eight-rounder on a card at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. Harrison, who is 1-2-1 in his last four bouts since 2019, is coming off a ninth-round knockout loss in Australia, where he faced Tim Tszyu for the vacant IBF interim junior middleweight title in March 2023.
Show and tell
Mike Tyson, then the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion, was viewed as invincible when he traveled to Tokyo in February 1990 to defend the crown against James “Buster” Douglas, a talented fighter labeled as a quitter by many for basically giving up when he fought Tony Tucker for the vacant IBF title on the undercard of Tyson’s WBC/WBA defense against Pinklon Thomas three years earlier. By now we all know what happened. Douglas, the gargantuan 42-1 underdog expected to be smoked in a round or two, who was dealing with the death recent death of his mother and serious illness of the mother of his son, rose to the occasion. He overcame an eighth-round knockdown, bullied the bully, and knocked Tyson out in the 10th round on a quiet Tokyo morning (to accommodate a live prime time HBO broadcast in the United States) to conclude a terrific fight. It is the greatest upset in boxing history and one of the most monumental upsets in sports history. It was a fight that transcended boxing and for those of us around at the time, if you weren’t watching the fight, is the kind of event where you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you heard Tyson had been knocked out.
There was not much merchandise made for the fight, which was held at the Tokyo Dome. Anything from the fight is desirable to collectors. I have had the oversize program and all three versions of the site poster in my collection for many years. But one specific item that I had heard about eluded me for decades. I knew there was a phone card set sold at the fight that included two fight-branded phone cards worth 50 yen apiece that came in a fight-branded four-page booklet/folder. Over the years I had seen the phone cards here and there but never the two together, and I had never seen the complete folder. But the search is now over and this awesome piece is now in my collection. Here are pictures of the cover, the back cover, the inside front cover and the inside back page that holds each phone card. I could not be more thrilled to finally have this in my collection. It’s a glorious day!
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Photos: Ramirez: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; Billam-Smith: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer; Inoue: Sumio Yamada/WBC
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Great stuff, Dan! This newsletter has the goods on everything from the biggest fight scheduled (Beef-Bivol), to the P4P Monster, to exciting news on realistic PPV pricing, to Bridgerweight mandatories and predictable un-retirements (Harrison). Now you just need to explain to the kids wtf a phone card is.
Some great match ups there.