6 days Ago
In the main event of Latino Night, Gilberto Ramirez unified the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles with a definitive performance over Chris Billam-Smith on Saturday at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ramirez proved to be the superior boxer and puncher as he added CBS' WBO title to his collection. Two of the judge's scorecards scored it 116-112, and the third judge had it 116-113.
CBS scored great heart throughout the fight, but Ramirez's arm length, timing, and power were the difference. Midway through the fight, CBS' left eye was severely swollen, but he showed heart, going through 12 rounds and remaining competitive. The punch stats showed Ramirez had a three-punch advantage, but CBS landed more power shots.
Even with more volume, there was no question which fighter did the most damage with their punches. Here is a look at the round-by-round punch stats from the fight. The Ramirez-CBS fight topped off a solid card of fights from Riyadh.
The card was designed to celebrate Latino culture. Here is a look at the results: The only KO of the night came from minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo. He dropped Knockout CP Freshmart three times en route to the seventh-round TKO.
There was a minor controversy in the middle of the card. Up-and-coming Golden Boy product William Zepeda eeked out a win over veteran Tevin Farmer–despite suffering a knockdown. Zepeda escaped with the split-decision win, but his trouble with Farmer created serious doubt about the Mexican’s prospects in his next fight.
Zepeda has agreed in principle to face WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson in his next fight. Styles make fights, but it is tough to imagine Zepeda having a chance against Stevenson after his performance against Farmer. While Farmer is an excellent and skilled pro, Stevenson is a world-class talent with next-level speed and reflexes.
That fight looks even more lopsided now than it did 48 hours ago. We’ll see if Zepeda-Stevenson stays in play for the potential Golden Boy vs. Matchroom card.
Another fight that connects to that card was the Jose Ramirez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. scrap.
Barboza won unanimously and looks on pace to fight Jack Catterall if the five-v-five comes to fruition. The small crowd at the Venue was also a story. The arena was notably small, and there were still mounds of empty seats.
The cultural celebration didn’t draw the crowd the promotion hoped it would, but there were some excellent fights. No matter how you look at it, the fight lineup was truer to the sport than what we saw on Friday night with the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson card.
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