Chris Billam-Smith and Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez will square off this Saturday in a cruiserweight unification showdown that promises to deliver fireworks from the opening bell.
WBO champion Billam-Smith comes off a dominant performance against Richard Riakporhe, securing a wide unanimous decision victory to exact revenge on his domestic rival.
Ramirez, meanwhile, ripped his WBA strap off Arsen Goulamirian in an equally comprehensive 12-round display earlier this year, becoming the first ever Mexican champion at 200 lbs.
And now, the two seasoned operators will look to reign supreme over the cruiserweight division, where a sizable void was left following Oleksandr Usyk’s departure.
Shane McGuigan hits back at Deontay Wilder’s head coach
Billam-Smith caused a monumental upset when he defeated Lawrence Ololie – becoming a world champion in his hometown – at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth.
But while most of the credit should go to ‘The Gentleman’ for his stunning performance, the Brit’s head coach, Shane McGuigan, deserves a high degree of praise too.
McGuigan, after all, took Billam-Smith from the early stage of his development to a place where the majority of fans never thought he could reach.
And so, it is perhaps unsurprising that the esteemed trainer has taken great offense to the recent comments expressed by Malik Scott.
As well as being the head coach of former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, Scott has also assisted Julian Chua, who trains Ramirez, ahead of their outing in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
The former heavyweight contender, though, has been highly critical of Billam-Smith throughout the build-up, insisting that the Brit’s unification with Zurdo is a ‘mismatch.’
“After the abysmal stuff that he’s done with Deontay Wilder, I don’t know how he’s still got a job,” McGuigan told Boxing News in response to Scott. “He’s just a guy that talks a lot of s***.
“All of the s*** he talks – it never comes to truth. He hasn’t trained anybody to win any fight of merit.
“I just can’t believe Deontay Wilder even employed him after knocking him out in about 30 seconds [back when Wilder fought Scott in 2014].
“It annoys me, what he thinks of my fighter.”
Will Oleksandr Usyk move back down to cruiserweight?
While the winner of this Saturday’s unification will have a much stronger claim to the cruiserweight throne, there are still two champions remaining at 200 lbs.
One of whom, IBF titlist Jai Opetaia, comes off a destructive sixth-round stoppage over Jack Massey on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol.
Even prior to his title defense, however, the Australian was considered by many to be the top dog at cruiserweight.
And yet, with two-division undisputed champion Usyk eying a potential move back down to his former weight class, it appears that the cat could well and truly be put back among the pigeons.