Chris Billam-Smith told World Boxing News earlier this week that he’s ready to make a statement against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and join Daniel Dubois as British boxing royalty.
The cruiserweights meet in a WBA and WBO world championship unification November 16 atop a Latino Night-themed card at The Venue during Riyadh Season in Saudi Arabia.
WBN spoke to Billam-Smith behind-the-scenes at a press conference in downtown Los Angeles earlier this week, one month removed from the Golden Boy Promotions spectacle.
For Billam-Smith, it’s a chance to solidify his status as one of a few fighters who can take the superstar baton from older guard boxers like Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
While Fury and Joshua lick the wounds from their recent losses, fighters like Billam-Smith, Daniel Dubois, and Hamzah Sheeraz all appear poised to carry the UK scene on their backs in the coming years.
Sheeraz and Dubois recently scored wins on the big stage, at Wembley Stadium, having beaten Tyler Denny by second round knockout, and Anthony Joshua by fifth round finish, respectively, on September 21.
The upcoming fight with Ramirez, which is the toughest test of Billam-Smith’s career to date, could make or break his readiness to take over from Fury and Joshua as one of Britain’s very best.
“It’s an honor” to be ranked so high, pound-for-pound, in Britain, Billam-Smith told WBN when we told him he was third, according to Boxrec, behind Dubois and Sheeraz.
“You know we’ve got a lot of great fighters in Britain,” Billam-Smith said. “We’re doing well as a nation. We’ve got Nick Ball who recently became a world champion, and there’s always others coming through.
“We’ve got the depth,” he said. “It’s a real honor to be out there as one of our world champions.”
Dubois, Billam-Smith said, put in “a great performance” against Joshua and has now “proven in the last couple fights” that he truly belongs at world level.
With a main event fight in Riyadh Season against ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez, Billam-Smith gets a chance to join Dubois as someone who belongs there, too.
“I thought ‘Zurdo’ was smaller than I expected” at the face-off, Billam-Smith said. “I thought he might be a bit bigger. He’s still got a lot of skill and ability, but I’ve got all the intensity,” he added, confident he’ll return from Saudi Arabia with the 21st win of his seven-year pro career.
“This opportunity for me is huge,” Billam Smith said earlier, while on the stage.
“I’ve been written off many times before. Last time out against Richard Riakporhe. I was going into his backyard, his soccer stadium, and it was all about him, and it was his night, and I went and spoiled the part.
“And, unfortunately for the Latinos, on November 16, I’ll be doing exactly the same again.”
Latino Night airs for free on DAZN.
Alan Dawson is World Boxing News Lead Writer, a 2 x Sports Journalist of the Year finalist, and 5 x BWAA awards winner. Follow Alan @AlanDawsonSport.