Chris Billam-Smith fell short in his bid to become unified cruiserweight world champion as Gilberto Ramirez added the WBA belt to his collection.
On what was the biggest night of Billam-Smith’s career, he made a fast start in Riyadh and was on top in the opening round, landing a succession of right hands and raising the prospect that his natural size advantage could prove a real problem for Ramirez.
But the Mexican swiftly moved into the box seat, catching Billam-Smith clean on a regular basis as a cut opened up on the Briton’s noise and then a more serious one above his left eye by the end of the sixth round. The referee called the doctor to have a close inspection, but Billam-Smith was allowed to continue.
The accuracy and timing of Ramirez was relentless and Billam-Smith, even if at no point did a stoppage feel imminent, could not respond, for all he was incredibly brave in continuing to march forward and exchange at close range.
He heard the final bell in a gruelling fight, the pair standing in the centre of the ring for the final 30 seconds and throwing everything at each other, but the result was not in doubt.
The judges scored it 116-112, 116-112 and 116-113 in Ramirez’s favour, about as close as Billam-Smith could have hoped for, as the WBO champion took hom Billam-Smith’s WBA strap.
“A bit of irony - my initials are CBS and I say consistency builds success,” Billam-Smith said in the ring after the fight. “The consistency of Zurdo tonight was what one it for him. Full respect.”
On the impact of the cuts he suffered, Billam-Smith added: “It’s part of the sport. At times it was going blurry and closing a bit, and in between rounds the cut-man was doing a great job.
“There were a few rounds there where I couldn’t really see out of that eye. But no excuses, it was his work that got it done.”
Ramirez, a former super-middleweight world champion, now holds two belts at 200lbs and has set the stage for another unification bout, potentially against IBF champion Jai Opetaia.
The Australian has fought his last three fights in Saudi Arabia, most recently stopping Briton’s Jack Massey last month, and Ramirez called for another title showdown.
He said: “I want to unify with all the champions. That's the main goal for me."
