WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez and WBO champion Chris Billiam-Smith successfully competed in Friday's weigh-in ahead of their unification bout on Saturday evening, November 16. Ramirez weighed 199.6 pounds, and Billam-Smith came in at 199.4.
(Credit: Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
During the face-off, an intense-looking Billiam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) stared holes through Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs), who initially smiled a little but felt uncomfortable with the way he was being looked at.
Billiam-Smith intimidates Zurdo
At the end of the staredown, Ramirez appeared visibly shaken by the experience. Billiam-Smith had messaged him that he plans to go to war on Saturday night, and he is not playing with Zurdo. Billiam-Smith had a shark-like look on him. He was staring intensely at Ramirez, which means things might not go well for the Mexican fighter on Saturday.
Weighing results
Gilberto Ramirez 199.6 vs. Chris Billiam-Smith 199.4 Jose Ramirez 139.6 vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. 140 William Zepeda 134.2 vs. Tevin Farmer 135 Oscar Collazo 104.8 vs. Thammooon Niyomtrong 104.8 Oscar Duarte 141.8 vs. Batyr Akhmedov 1 41.8
Saturday's Ramirez-Billiam-Smith card will be shown live on DAZN. Considering all the great fights on the card, this is an excellent deal for fans who don't have to pay to watch.
#1 ranked lightweight contender William Zepeda weighed in at 134.2 lbs, and Tevin Farmer came in at 135 lbs for their 10-round fight. Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) has expressed his displeasure over Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya and Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn discussing a fight between Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) and WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson on February 22 during a Riyadh seasonal event.
Farmer doesn't like the fact that he's being overlooked and seen as just an opponent of Zepeda, but it's understandable why. Farmer, 34, is not young, and he is not the same fighter he once was when he campaigned at 130 years old. At lightweight, fighters need strength to survive, and he doesn't have what it takes.
Shakur could learn that lesson for himself when he faces Zepeda in February. Athletic, defensive fighters cannot thrive at 135 against the big hitters.
We saw Vasily Lomachenko struggle as he moved up to lightweight, and Shakur looked the same in his ONLY fight against a good opponent in the division, Edwin De Los Santos.
Former unified light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez weighed 134.2, and Arnold Barboza Jr. came in at 139.6 lbs for their 10 round fight. Ramirez (29-1, 19 KOs) is looking for his fourth straight win since losing to Josh Taylor by 12-round unanimous decision three years ago on May 22, 2021.
It's hard to know what the 32-year-old Ramirez has left as he has been rebuilding since that loss. It shouldn't have taken this long for Ramirez to come back, but it did and Saturday is a key test to see if he can still hang with the best. #1 WBO Barboza (30-0, 11 KOs) is coming off a controversial 10-round split decision against Sean McComb on April 20. Many fans thought Barboza deserved a loss in that fight, and so did I.
WBO minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo weighed 104.8 pounds, and WBA champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong weighed 104.8 pounds for their unification fight.
Lightweight contender Oscar Duarte and his opponent Bortirzhon Akhmedov both came in at 141.8 for their 10-round fight.
“If Zepeda wins and looks bad, that's good for him. It makes the fight go a little faster,” Chris Algieri told Proox about William Zepeda taking advantage by not impressing against Tevin Farmer.
“Shakur comes off that hand surgery and goes straight into a fight with Zepeda. I don't think it will happen. You will have Zepeda right in front of you. Shakur will have to crack Zepeda.
It is possible that Zepeda will beat Farmer and take him out quickly in this fight as he is too powerful for the former IBF super featherweight champion.
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