Notebook: Zurdo's to do list includes unifying vs. Billam-Smith
Cruiserweight titlist eyes eventual title bouts at bridgerweight, heavyweight; 'Latino Night' lineup; Alalshikh buys Ring magazine; Tyson interview; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez has his to do list and he’s been checking goals off.
Super middleweight title? Check. He held the WBO 168-pound belt from 2016 to 2018 and made five defenses before vacating to move up in weight.
Although he scored five consecutive knockouts at light heavyweight to earn a mandatory shot at then-WBA titlist Dmitry Bivol in November 2022, he lost a lopsided decision in admittedly the worst performance of his career. That goal will go unchecked.
But cruiserweight title? Check. Having had weight issues, Ramirez moved up to the 200-pound division 13 months ago, cruised to a one-sided decision over former light heavyweight titlist Joe Smith Jr. and then routed Arsen Goulamirian in March to take his WBA cruiserweight belt.
Ramirez is far from completing his checklist. The first item on the remainder of the list is unifying titles, an opportunity he never got at super middleweight.
In his just his third fight in the division, Ramirez will square off with WBO titlist Chris Billam-Smith to unify belts in the main event of the loaded Golden Boy Promotions “Latino Night” card, which is the first non-pay-per-view Riyadh Season event, on Saturday (DAZN worldwide, TrillerTV, Golden Boy YouTube, 12 p.m. ET; also Sky Sports in the U.K.) at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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While Ramirez may stick around at cruiserweight for additional bouts win or lose, he has other goals in mind that he would also like to tick off his to do list
That means eventual trips for what he hopes will be world title opportunities in the 224-pound bridgerweight division, which is recognized only by the WBC and WBA, and heavyweight.
“My main focus is to become the undisputed world cruiserweight champion before moving up again,” Ramirez said. “Before the heavyweight division, though, I’d also like to get the bridgerweight belt. But Saturday’s fight has a lot on the line and it’s going to be very challenging.”
Ramirez, who is 7-1 in world title fight over three divisions, has shown ample respect for Billam-Smith and that has not changed early in fight week.
“Chris Billam-Smith has all my respect, and I expect him to bring his best that night,” Ramirez said. “I’ve prepared for war and will leave everything I have in the ring to have my hand raised in victory.
“Chris Billam-Smith is a world Champion for a reason. He brings a well-rounded mix of power, resilience and technical skill into the ring. His physical strength is a key weapon, allowing him to break down opponents with heavy body shots and powerful punches. Technically, Billam-Smith uses his jab and footwork effectively to control the pace and distance of the fight, often dictating the action. His stamina is another strong asset, enabling him to sustain pressure throughout the later rounds. I expect a tough, challenging fight against him.”
Billam-Smith, a career-long cruiserweight, dropped British countryman Lawrence Okolie three times en route to a majority decision to win the WBO title in May 2023. He has made two defenses, an eighth-round knockout of Mateusz Masternak last December in his first defense followed by a unanimous decision in Richard Riakporhe’s hometown of London in June to avenge his only defeat, a 10-round split decision loss in 2019 in which Riakporhe knocked him down.
“He has a lot of heart in the ring,” Ramirez said of Billam-Smith. “I know he brings his best every time, and I don’t take anything for granted. I’ve prepared for a hard battle, and I respect what he brings as a fighter.”
“Latino Night” lineup
(Saturday, 12 p.m. ET at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on DAZN worldwide, TrillerTV, Golden Boy YouTube; also Sky Sports in U.K.):
Cruiserweights: Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) vs. Chris Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs), 12 rounds, WBA/WBO unification
Junior welterweights: Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) vs. Arnold Barboza (30-0, 11 KOs), 10 rounds
Lightweights: William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) vs. Tevin Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs), 10 rounds, for vacant WBC interim title
Strawweights: Oscar Collazo (10-0, 7 KOs) vs. Thammanoon Niyomtrong (25-0, 9 KOs), 12 rounds, WBO/WBA strawweight unification
Welterweights: Oscar Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KOs) vs. Batyr Akhmedov (10-3, 9 KOs), 10 rounds
Welterweights: Ziyad Almaayouf (6-0, 1 KO) vs. Carlos Ramirez (5-6, 0 KOs), 6 rounds
Mike Tyson interview
If you missed the recent podcast episode that includes my one-on-one interview with Mike Tyson ahead of his return to the ring for his first official bout in nearly 20 years to face Jake Paul on Friday night, we broke it out separately and you can listen to it here. Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe to get an alert when the next episode is available. New shows every Thursday and Sunday night (and occasional special episodes like this one).
Turki Alalshikh buys The Ring
Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh has purchased The Ring, the venerable “Bible of Boxing,” from Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, the longtime owner.
The purchase not only gives Alalshikh control of one of the most iconic media brands in the sport — it’s 102 years old and published its first issue in February 1922 — but also its substantial archive, rankings and championship belts.
“Earlier this week, I finalized a deal to acquire 100% of The Ring magazine, and I want to make a few things clear,” Alalshikh wrote on social media. “The print version of the magazine will return immediately after a two-year hiatus, and it will be available in the US and UK markets.”
With Alalshikh spearheading the Saudi Arabian government’s nine-figure investment into boxing and being in the powerful position of making and promoting fights over the past year, he also addressed the obvious potential for conflicts of interest related to its coverage and rankings — similar to the skepticism De La Hoya, a promoter, often faced during his stewardship of the brand.
“The magazine will be fully independent, with brilliant writers and focusing on every aspect in the sport of boxing,” Alalshikh wrote. “We will restore the legacy of The Ring Rankings to its old mechanism with a fully independent panel that lives up to The Ring magazine’s golden era. We will continue to raise the prestige of The Ring Titles, and plans are already underway to have a yearly extravagant awards ceremony to celebrate the very best in the boxing industry.”
The website has been offline for several days as it undergoes a renovation by the new owner.
“In the coming weeks, we intend to debut a brand new state of the art website and mobile app,” Alalshikh wrote. “We are already in development for a line of Ring magazine merchandise. The Ring magazine will be a fully independent company without any involvement from Riyadh Season. In the end, let’s get the ‘Bible of Boxing’ to heights that it has never seen in the past.”
The rumors that Alalshikh was interested in buying The Ring were rampant for weeks but with De La Hoya resisting the sale until he got an offer he couldn’t refuse.
De La Hoya, who is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week working with Alalshikh to promote their “Latino Night” card on Saturday, told Forbes that Alalshikh paid $10 million for The Ring, which De La Hoya bought for $7 million in 2007.
“I did have some conversations with His Excellency (Alalshikh),” De La Hoya told Forbes. “As you know, he loves boxing. One of the staples of the sport is the publication called The Ring magazine. Look, he obviously made the offer that we could not refuse. It was an asset that I held onto for many years. We were steadily holding on to it, keeping it alive.”
De La Hoya made the decision to end the print publication two years ago but kept it going as a monthly digital magazine.
“I just thought one day, you know, I think it’s time to release this asset, sell it and move on to other things,” De La Hoya said. “The offer from Turki Alalshikh was an offer that I could not refuse. It’s in great hands. I strongly feel that Turki Alalshikh, because of his love of the sport, is going to continue to grow the brand and make sure that The Ring magazine continues to thrive, grow and to give fans the best content.”
Quick hits
Former IBF junior welterweight titlist Subriel Matias (21-2, 21 KOs), 32, knocked out Roberto Ramirez (26-4-1, 19 KOs), 31, of Mexico, with a body shot in the second round of the main event of a Fresh Productions card on Saturday night at Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The fight was the first for Matias since he lost the title by upset decision to Australia’s Liam Paro in June in Matias’ hometown of Manati, Puerto Rico.
Antonio Vargas (18-1, 10 KOs), 28, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, and Winston Guerrero (22-0, 13 KOs), 24, of Nicaragua, will meet for the vacant WBA interim bantamweight title, which is available for no particular reason, in the main event of the MVP’s “Most Valuable Promotions Prospects 10” card on Dec.13 (DAZN) at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. It will be a hometown fight for Vargas, who hails from nearby Orlando suburb Kissimmee, Florida. Junior lightweight Javon Walton (1-0-1, 1 KO), 18, an Atlanta native, who is better known as an actor than boxer, will face Erik Hanley (1-1, 1 KO), 31, of Rancho Cordova, California, in the four-round co-feature. Also, heavyweights Gurgen Hovhannisyan (6-0, 6 KOs), 26, a Los Angeles-based Armenian, and Patrick Mailata (6-2, 3 KOs), 29, a Las Vegas-based Samoan, will square off in an eight-rounder.
Former bantamweight and junior featherweight titlist Luis Nery will face an opponent to be named on Dec. 14 (ESPN+) on the Zanfer Promotions card at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico. His fight will be the co-feature of the card announced last week headlined by super middleweight contender and former junior middleweight titlist Jaime Munguia against Bruno Surace in a 10-rounder. The fight will be Nery’s first since he challenged undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue in a mandatory fight in May at the Tokyo Dome, where he stunningly knocked him down for the first time in his career in the first round, although Inoue rallied and knocked Nery out in the sixth round.
IBF strawweight titlist Pedro Taduran (17-4-1, 13 KOs), 27, a Filipino southpaw, was scheduled to make the first defense of his second reign against mandatory challenger DianXing Zhu (14-1, 12 KOs), 28, of China, on Nov. 23 in Jeju Island, South Korea, but the fight has been canceled to due to the Korean promoter failing to get the sponsorship deals in place necessary for the event to go forward. While he will still have to eventually face his mandatory challenger, Taduran is hoping he can get the IBF exception allowed for a unification fight and next land a three-belt unification fight with the winner of the two-belt unification fight between WBO titlist Oscar Collazo and WBA counterpart Thammanon Niyomtrong that is set for the Golden Boy/Riyadh Season “Latino Night” card on Saturday (DAZN) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ashleyann Lozada, 33, who was the first female boxer to represent Puerto Rico at this past summer’s Paris Olympics, where she reached the quarterfinals of the featherweight bracket, is going pro and has signed with manager Mark Taffet, the former longtime HBO PPV chief, whose top client is women’s No. 1 pound-for-pound Claressa Shields. “I’m so excited to be working with Ashleyann Lozada and her team as they begin their professional boxing journey toward a world championship,” Taffet said. “Through my years of great events with Tito Trinidad, Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon, I witnessed first-hand the passion and respect that Puerto Rican fighters and fans have for the sport of boxing. Ashleyann will add to this great legacy, and will be a great addition to the women’s boxing landscape for years to come.”
Salita Promotions’ next edition of “Big Time Boxing USA” will take place Dec. 12 (DAZN) at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, with junior middleweight and Flint native Ardreal Holmes Jr. (16-0, 6 KOs), 30, taking on Ahmed El Mousaoui (35-6-1, 9 KOs), 34, of France, in the 10-round main event. Middleweight Joey Spencer (18-1, 11 KOs), 24, of Fenton, Michigan, will face an opponent to be name in the 10-round co-feature. Spencer, a former PBC fighter, has won two fights in a row since suffering his lone loss via seventh-round knockout to Jesus Ramos on the David Benavidez-Caleb Plant pay-per-view card in March 2023.
Show and tell
The first fight between late Hall of Fame legends Aaron Pryor and Alexis Arguello is, quite simply, one of the 10 best fights in boxing history. They met at the Orange Bowl in Miami, where Arguello, a former featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight champion, was the big crowd favorite and attempting to become the first boxer to win a world title in four divisions as he challenged Pryor, who was making his sixth WBA junior welterweight title defense. It was a fantastic battle featuring non-stop back-and-forth action at the highest skill level. Ultimately, Pryor would not be denied and knocked out Arguello in the 14th round of what was later named 1980s fight of the decade by Ring magazine.
For many years, I have obsessed over this all-time epic fight, which took place on Nov. 12, 1982 — 42 years ago on Tuesday. Although I do not have either rare version of the site poster in my collection yet (so, if you have one in nice shape and are interested in selling it or trading it let me know!), I do have three items from the fight — a press kit, an 8 1/2x11 thin card stock advertising broadside and an extremely rare program (see below) — in my collection. One thing I’ve never been able to figure out is why the program is legitimately rare in any condition. The fight was at a huge stadium with a big crowd, but in looking for the program for probably 25-plus years, I’ve seen maybe three of them, including the very high grade copy I miraculously purchased a few years ago. It’s one of the toughest to find big-fight programs that I am aware of.
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Photos: Ramirez-Billam-Smith: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; Matias-Ramirez: Fresh Productions
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Turki wants brilliant writers for the ring,you fit the bill dan
A little ironic that the Saudis are getting into journalism.