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Add FightsATW on GoogleIt was Latino Night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, hosted by Golden Boy Promotions on DAZN. The main event was a unified cruiserweight title fight between Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs) & Chris Billam-Smith(20-2, 13 KOs). The fight resulted in a brutal, one-sided unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, and 116-113) for Ramirez, but Billam-Smith showed a ton of heart as he refused to give up his title without a fight.
It was a great opening round for Billam-Smith as he hurt Ramirez with his right hand throughout the round. Towards the end of the round, Ramirez woke up and landed a hard left hook to the head of Billam Smith which rocked him. Ramirez followed it with a hard left hook to the body right before the bell rang to end the round. The second round displayed more smart inside fighting by Billam-Smith, who used a ton of torque when throwing his short right and left hooks. Ramirez landed some good combinations up close, but Billam-Smith’s counterpunching and accuracy dominated the round.
Billam-Smith continued his pressure in the third round, and Ramirez tried hard to keep him off. Ramirez would again wait until the last ten seconds of the round before landing some big combinations to buzz Billam-Smith. In the fourth round, a firefight broke out as both fighters were throwing bombs. Ramirez got the better of the exchange when he landed a vicious right hook that hurt Billam-Smith and created a cut on his left eyelid. The relentless back and forth continued in the fifth round, with Billam-Smith getting the better of the exchanges. Although Ramirez was on the receiving end of a ton of punches, again, in the last ten seconds, he poured it on.
Ramirez’s right hook could not miss in the sixth round. He landed three big right hooks with Billam-Smith stepping back and taking deep breaths. Billam-Smith stood tough even though his left eye continued to swell up. As Ramirez kept pounding Billam-Smith’s body in the seventh round, Billam-Smith’s body language was not good. He was getting hit with too many clean shots as Ramirez began to tee off on him throughout the round.
Billam-Smith showed a ton of heart throughout the eighth round, but Ramirez changed the levels of his punches, making Billam-Smith’s legs unstable. It felt like Ramirez was in complete control at this point in the fight. Ramirez kept hammering to the body and landing hard left hooks on Billam-Smith throughout the ninth round. Billam-Smith began to have a delayed reaction, which is not what you want to see in a fighter.
Billam-Smith began the championship rounds laying it all on the line. He was beat up but did not allow that to stop him from moving forward and throwing punches. Ramirez took a breather in spots but was still able to land some crisp, hard left hooks and uppercuts. Ramirez closed the show like the champion he is by going blow for blow with Billam-Smit
Barboza Jr. Earns Unanimous Decision In A Boring Fight
Arnold Barbosa Jr. (31-0, 11 KOs) finally got the big win he was waiting for. He scored a unanimous decision (97-93, 96-94 & 96-94) over Jose Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a fight that did not move the entertainment needle.
It was a chess match of foot placement in the opening round. Both fighters used their left jabs well, but towards the end of the round, Barboza landed a quick 1-2 combination that caught everyone’s attention. The second round was another tactical one, as neither fighter took control of the fight. They both had their moments with combinations, and it made for a challenging round to score.
There wasn’t much going on in the third round, as both fighters were still trying to figure each other out. Barboza appeared to make better adjustments towards the end of the round. Ramirez began the fourth round aggressively with the overhand right and kept his jab in front of Barboza’s face. Although Ramirez controlled the early part of the round, Barboza came on midway and landed some clean combinations while making Ramirez miss. Towards the end of the round, Ramirez would land some flurries in an attempt to steal the round.
The fifth round saw Ramirez land a hard overhand right, but it barely moved Barboza. Throughout the round, Barboza appeared to be more in control of the round. Rounds six through ten were almost identical: Ramirez’s flashy combinations in spots while Barboza landed clean counterpunches. Ultimately, Barboza’s ring generalship won him the fight as he moves on to big and better things in 2025.
Zepeda Escapes Riyadh With A Razor Close Split Decision
Wiliam Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) is penciled in for a February fight against Shakur Stevenson, but those plans were almost derailed as Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) gave him a helluva fight. Zepeda earned a split decision over Farmer, with the judges seeing this one 95-94 for Zepeda, 95-94 for Farmer, and 95-94 for Zepeda. According to Compubox, “Zepeda and Farmer both landed 33% of their total punches. Zepeda threw 191 more punches and landed 66 more. 47% of Zepeda’s landed power punches were body shots.”
It was an interesting first round as Zepeda couldn’t throw the 100-plus punches he is used to throwing. Farmer kept his right jab out there and held when he could, while Zepeda had a good right jab of his own. Zepeda did land some nice check right hooks, but Farmer did his best to try to smother Zepeda’s punches. It was almost as if Zepeda decided that the second round was when he would turn it all the way up. Zepeda was relentless, digging hard to the body of Farmer. Although Zepeda was having a ton of success, Farmer did land some good counterpunches but couldn’t keep up with his opponent.
Farmer slowed the pace in the third round and made Zepeda pay from mid-range. Zepeda tried to swarm Farmer, but the crafty veteran was able to move out of the way and land his own shots, potentially stealing the round. The fourth round was an eye-opener for Zepeda as Farmer threw a straight left hand that sent Zepeda down to the canvas. Zepeda got up, but Farmer would dominate the rest of the round. It was a super competitive fifth round as Zepeda and Farmer went blow for blow in a phone booth-style fight. Zepeda was being relentless while Farmer was trying to match his punch output.
Farmer took the sixth round off while Zepeda took full advantage of it as he continued his pressure and overwhelming volume of punches. In the seventh round, Farmer was back in rhythm with the right jab and smothering Zepeda’s punches on the inside. Zepeda kept moving forward but didn’t have the same steam behind his punches as he did earlier in the fight. Zepeda dedicated the entire eighth round to Farmer’s body, which saw him fold quite a few times. It was clear that Zepeda’s body punches were affecting Farmer as he couldn’t turn his punches over as much.
The ninth round was another close round, and Farmer showed his warrior grit by standing in the pocket and exchanging with Zepeda. Farmer poured it on in the last round, giving Zepeda all he could handle. Zepeda was once again relentless, but Farmer landed the bigger punches to finish the fight.
Although Farmer did not get the decision, he has earned another big fight in the future while Zepeda will look to challenge Stevenson in February.
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