Ramirez vs Billam-Smith: Oscar De La Hoya sees Usyk as the winner

Promoter Oscar De La Hoya has hinted that the winner of Gilberto Ramírez and Chris Billam-Smith could be in line for a fight against heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday.

Ramírez (46-1, 30 KOs) will put his WBA cruiserweight title on the line against WBO champion Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the winner also taking a step closer to claiming the undisputed crown.

De La Hoya said he believes the win could have a chance to fight Usyk, who has talked about moving back to cruiserweight after his rematch against Tyson Fury in December.

“Obviously the winner can go on to bigger and better things. There has been talk of Zurdo (Ramírez) fighting Usyk for example,” De La Hoya told ESPN. “Usyk is looking to fight at cruiserweight and I feel strongly that the winner of this Saturday night might win the contest and get a shot at Usyk after this win.

“It’s very viable that Usyk comes down to (the) cruiserweight division and challenges the winner of Saturday night. So yes, these are exciting times for the cruiserweight division, exciting times for boxing and exciting times for Ramírez and Billam-Smith.”

In June, Usyk told the “3 Knockdown Rule” podcast: “I think maybe after the rematch I’ll go down to cruiserweight. I want more (fights at) cruiserweight. Maybe I can go uncontested for the second time in the cruiserweight division, that’s my plan.”

Ramírez, whose only professional defeat came against Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight in 2022, said he wants to be the undisputed cruiserweight champion and would welcome the chance to fight Usyk.

“Yes, of course it’s a fight people want to see and I’m also interested because (Usyk) is the undisputed champion,” he told ESPN.

Billam-Smith has long been linked with a fight against undefeated IBF champion Jai Opetaia, but both Ramírez and De La Hoya warned the Mexican is ready to throw a spanner in the works on Saturday.

“That fight won’t happen because I want to take that belt this Saturday night and that’s the fight that I want too. I want to be unified champion and that’s my goal and that’s why I have to pass through this guy this Saturday,” Ramírez said.

De La Hoya, meanwhile, said he believes the fight will be a close one.

“Mexico vs Great Britain inside the ring will be fireworks and it will be a really exciting, exciting fight. The winner can obviously go on to bigger and better things,” said the former world champion.

“It’s a big mistake if you overlook Ramírez. I understand that there are associations, there are multiple world championship belts at stake, there are a lot of potential good matchups in the UK, but Zurdo Ramírez is a fighter who has been in there with the very best.”