“A truly interesting unifying match”, — write: sport.ua
Ramirez and Billem-Smith will meet at a great time. Their fight is worth watching Historically, cruiserweight is not a popular enough and interesting weight class among fans. There are great boxers and bursts of curiosity. Like in the days of Evander Holyfield, for example. Or in the days of David Haye. This is the period when a star was added to quite good boxers and made the category attractive for a certain time.
It is also worth mentioning the period when Oleksandr Usyk was the absolute champion here. There was a very good selection of boxers then, and Usyk was only one of the main talents, but not the main one. For those who doubt, I would like to remind that the chances of Gassiev and Usyk were considered equal before the Superseries final.
Now, too, the times are quite interesting, although not stellar. There is the Mexican champion Hilberto Ramirez. He moved up from the lightweight division and became the first Mexican champion in history here. There is the British Chris Billem-Smith, who beat both Lawrence Okolie and Richard Riakpore, who claimed the title of the strongest British weight. In addition to these two, there is Jay Opetaia, who is gradually becoming the main star of the division. Although his correspondence opponents still have better records. And there is Noel Mikaelyan, who significantly loses to everyone else in terms of popularity.
Fortunately, Ramirez and Billem-Smith are coming together right now. Chris wasn’t ready before. He had to survive the defeat, come back, develop to the current level.
Ramirez was not ready either – because he boxed one category below. In the light heavyweight category, Hilberto was tied for Floyd Mayweather’s record until he met Dmitry Bivol. He overboxed Ramirez and created too many problems for him.
That fight can be explained, among other things, by the fact that it has been difficult for Ramirez to make weight for a long time.
Both have established themselves in the cruiserweight division. Chris – after defeat and some evolution. Both in terms of boxing and in terms of self-confidence. Ramirez simply tried himself in a new category and realized that he was moving for a reason – he won the belt.
Another important point is the venue of the confrontation. The boxers will meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Here, another champion has already established himself – Jay Opetaia. So the next winning combination may not take as long as it usually takes.
What about boxing? There is also complete order here.
Billem-Smith beat Okoli, Masternak and Riakpore. It all looks very cool, considering that in two of the three meetings, Chris was the outsider.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Hilberto Ramirez (left) and Chris Billem-Smith Ramirez broke into a new weight class with two decision victories. First outboxed Joe Smith Jr. in ten rounds. Then in twelve rounds – Arsen Ghulamiryan, along the way taking away his belt and zero defeats in the pros.
Billem-Smith is pure emotion. The same British boxing, when thousands of fans are screaming around, and in the ring, a measured shooting from a distance turns into a non-stop fight at medium and short distances. Boxing aesthetes are not always happy to watch this. Even for the most part they laugh at it. But in terms of the show, everything is very interesting.
Ramirez is more cautious in the new category. Realizing that he no longer had a size advantage, Hilberto remembered that he could box, and he was good at it. This is exactly what he did in the last two fights.
Smart jab work, lots of body attacks. Skilled, interesting boxer who can knock out and overbox. That’s all – about Hilberto Ramirez in his new weight category.
Who is the favorite? Hilberto Ramirez is a clear favorite here. What Chris Billem-Smith is not used to. You can bet on the Mexican WBC champion at 1.40. You can bet on the WBO champion from Great Britain for 3.00.
In general, it never bothered Chris. Okoli was considered too big and skilled – he lost after several knockdowns during the match. Riakpore has already beaten Billem-Smith. And in general he looked like a classier boxer. He lost by decision of the judges.
The amazing thing about the Brit is that for all his openness and seeming simplicity, he can even outbox more traditional boxers for twelve rounds.
Along with this, Ramirez is the most experienced opponent in the career of Chris. He has a lot of experience in big confrontations, and in the new category he also learned to use his size wisely. And at the same time, he can hit the average no worse than the opponent and has a shot.
So, as of now, it seems that Bill Smith will have to face a man who boxes better than him, but also fights no worse. However, what Chris knows best is to surprise.