WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez and WBO champion Chris Billiam-Smith successfully weighed in at Friday’s weigh-in for their unification bout on Saturday night, November 16. Ramirez weighed in at 199.6 pounds, and Billam-Smith came in at 199.4.
(Credit: Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
During the look-down, an intense Billiam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) stared holes through Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs), who smiled slightly at first but became uncomfortable with the way he was being looked at.
Billiam-Smith intimidates Lefty
At the end of the look-down, Ramirez looked visibly shaken by the experience. Billiam-Smith sent him a message that he intended to go to war on Saturday night, and he wasn’t messing around with Zurdo. Billiam-Smith has a shark-like look at him By the way, he was staring intently at Ramirez, so things might not go well with the Mexican fighter on Saturday.
Weighing results
Gilberto Ramirez 199.6 vs. Chris Billiam-Smith 199.4
Jose Ramirez 139.6 vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. 140
William Zepeda 134.2 vs. Tevin Farmer 135
Oscar Collazo 104.8 vs. Thammaoon Niyomtrong 104.8
Oscar Duarte 141.8 vs. Batyr Akhmedov 141.8
Saturday’s Ramirez-Billiam-Smith card will be shown live on DAZN. Given all the great fights on the card, this is an excellent deal for fans who don’t have to pay to watch.
#1 ranked lightweight contender William Zepeda weighed in at 134.2 pounds, and Tevin Farmer came in at 135 pounds for their 10-round bout. Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) expressed his displeasure with Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya and Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn pushing a Feb. 22 fight between Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) and WBC -lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson booked in a Riyadh Season event.
Boer does not like that he has been overlooked and seen as a mere opponent for Zepeda, but it is understandable why. Farmer, 34, is not young, and he is not the same fighter he once was when he campaigned at 130. At lightweight, fighters need strength to survive, and he doesn’t have what it takes.
Shakur can learn that lesson for himself when he faces Zepeda in February. Athletic, defensive fighters cannot thrive against the big punch at 135.
We saw Vasily Lomachenko struggle when he moved up to lightweight, and Shakur looked the same in his ONLY fight against a good opponent in the division, Edwin De Los Santos.
Former unified light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez weighed in at 134.2, and Arnold Barboza Jr. weighed in at 139.6 pounds for their 10-round fight. Ramirez (29-1, 19 KOs) is looking for his fourth straight win since losing to Josh Taylor three years ago on May 22, 2021 via a close 12-round unanimous decision.
It’s hard to know what the 32-year-old Ramirez has left because he’s been rebuilding since that loss. It shouldn’t have taken this long for Ramirez to come back, but it did, and Saturday is an important test to see if he can still hang with the best. #1 WBO Barboza (30-0, 11 KOs) is coming off a controversial 10-round split decision against Sean McComb on April 20th. Many fans thought Barboza deserved a loss in that fight, and I did too.
WBO Bantamweight champion Oscar Collazo weighed in at 104.8 pounds, and WBA champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong came in at 104.8 for their unification bout.
Lightweight contender Oscar Duarte and his opponent Bortirzhon Akhmedov both came in at 141.8 for their 10-round bout.
“If Zepeda wins and looks bad, that’s good for him. It makes the fight happen a little faster,” said Chris Algieri Proox about William Zepeda benefiting from not impressing against Tevin Farmer.
“Shakur comes off that hand surgery and goes right into a fight with Zepeda. I don’t think that will happen. You’re going to have Zepeda right in front of you. Shakur is going to have to crack Zepeda.
It is possible that Zepeda will blitz Farmer and take him out quickly in this fight as he is too powerful for the former IBF super featherweight champion.
