Gilberto Ramirez v Chris Billam-Smith: Weight, height, reach, records & more

We analyse the credentials and statistics of Gilberto Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith as the pair get set for their mammoth WBA and WBO cruiserweight unification showdown in Riyadh on Saturday night.

This weekend the cruiserweight division takes its first step on the path to creating its next undisputed champion.

The 200lbs weight class has not had an undisputed cruiserweight champion since July 2018 when Oleksandr Usyk showed Murat Gassiev the difference between a good fighter and a great one.

Next year we will likely see someone hold all four belts and the opening chapter in that story features WBA titlist Gilberto Ramirez and WBO belt holder Chris Billam-Smith.

But who will win in Riyadh on Saturday night?

Let’s look at the 'Tale of the Tape'...

Gilberto Ramirez v Chris Billam-Smith - Tale of the Tape

	Gilberto Ramirez	Chris Billam-Smith
Age:	33	34
Nickname:	'Zurdo'	‘The Gentleman’
Height:	6ft 2½ins	6ft 3ins
Reach:	75ins	75ins
Weight:	Cruiserweight	Cruiserweight
Trainer:	Julian Chua	Shane McGuigan
Record:	46-1 (30 KOs)	20-1 (13 KOs)
Last fight:	Won (UD) v Arsen Goulamirian (March 2024)	Won (UD) v Richard Riakporhe (June 2024)

Gilberto Ramirez - In Profile

Mexican boxing has produced some of the greatest fighters the world has seen but they have all fought somewhere south of 135lbs.

Canelo Alvarez has bucked that trend winning a world title as high as light-heavyweight (175lbs) from his humble beginnings at super-welterweight (154lbs). The future of his compatriot Gilberto Ramirez could lie at heavyweight if he conquers all at cruiserweight.

The 33-year-old southpaw began his career at middleweight (160lbs) and sees Billam-Smith as a unification pit stop on his way to undisputed before moving to the marquee heavyweight division.

Ramirez has the upper hand over Billam-Smith in many departments and will look to carry the charge to ‘The Gentleman’ to avoid fighting his type of fight.

In his 15-year and 47-fight career Ramirez has only ever lost to the gifted Dmitry Bivol, a level of competition that ‘Zurdo’ couldn’t handle.

It was a valuable lesson, however, and what he should take from that night into Saturday night is he cannot fight in one or two gears.

Ramirez is coming to make a statement and if he does move through the gears without trouble we could see a career defining performance from a man looking to create history for Mexican boxing.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Jab	Overreaches with punches
Body shots	Moves back in straight lines
Combination punching	Can be pinned in corners
Power	Relied on size advantage at light-heavyweight

Chris Billam-Smith - In Profile

People are beginning to realise that betting against Chris Billam-Smith is the wrong decision.

Like the best title-winning football teams, the British cruiserweight finds a way to win no matter what. Whether it’s a thriller or an eyesore Billam-Smith has come out on top in every one of his 11 fights since losing to Richard Riakporhe in July 2019.

It is testament to the 34-year-old’s character and development that in June this year he beat ‘The Midnight Train’ in a rematch retaining his WBO cruiserweight title for a second time.

Ramirez, however, poses far more challenging problems than that of Riakporhe or Lawrence Okolie who Billam-Smith beat to become champion.

The Mexican is the most technically astute of any opponent the Brit will have faced and has a ring craft that CBS will struggle to match.

All that being said, however, Ramirez will not have faced a man with as much grit and determination as Billam-Smith and how you begin in a fight is crucial.

If Billam-Smith can be up close and within an inch of Ramirez at all times he has a chance to win this fight in the trenches but if he stands off the WBA champ then he is in for a long night and potentially a one-sided loss.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Punch power	One-paced
Chin	Head movement
Resilient	Footwork
Hooks	Speed