ZURDO VS. JOE SMITH JR. TO FIGHT IN WBA CRUISERWEIGHT ELIMINATOR BOUT

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (October 4, 2023) – Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) of Mazatlán, Mexico and Joe “Common Man” Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) of Long Island, New York will now be fighting in a WBA Cruiserweight Eliminator match, the winner immediately in line for a world championship. Scheduled for 12-rounds, the fight night, presented in collaboration with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, will take place live from The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and live around the world on DAZN beginning at 5:00 p.m. PT.

In a new co-main event, Bektemir “The Bully” Melikuziev (12-1, 9 KOs) of Shoimbek, Uzbekistan, who also proudly represents Indio, California, will face Upper Marlboro, Maryland’s Alantez “SlyAza” Fox (28-4-1, 13 KOs). “The Bully” will defend his WBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title in a 10-round fight.

Newly added to the DAZN card, Darius “DFG” Fulghum (7-0, 7 KOs) will fight Alan Campa (18-8, 12 KOs) of Guaymas, Mexico in an eight-round light heavyweight bout. Fulghum has been on an unstoppable knockout streak and will be returning to the ring less than one month after his stoppage victory on September 16. Opening the broadcast, Fort Lauderdale’s Eric Tudor (9-0, 6 KOs) will participate in an eight-round super welterweight fight against Jose Sanchez (13-3-1, 4 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

On the preliminary undercard Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth (11-1, 8 KOs) of Carolton, Texas will face Aaron “Ghozt Mas” Casper (7-4-2, 5 KOs) of Augusta, Georgia in an eight-round cruiserweight fight. Also making a quick return after an explosive, second round knockout on September 7, recently signed Daniel “Ikaika” Luna (3-0, 3 KOs) will hope to repeat history with a four-round super lightweight fight against Erick Benitez (4-5, 1 KO) of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Also part of the preliminaries, in an eight-round junior middleweight fight is Star Boxing’s Jahyae “Golden Child Brown (13-1 9KO’s), who will face off against Youngstown, Ohio’s Victor Toney (7-2-1 6KO’s). Also on the undercard is Star Boxing’s undefeated, New Jersey prospect, Rajon “Picasso” Chance (8-0-1 6KO’s), who will measure up in an eight-round featherweight fight against Orlando Perez Zapata (13-0 9KO’s) of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.

Previously announced, John “Scrappy” Ramirez (12-0, 8 KOs) versus Panama City, Panama’s Ronal Batista (15-3, 9 KOs) in a WBA Super Flyweight Final Eliminator fight will now take place on the Rocha vs. Santillan card on Saturday, October 21.

#

Zurdo vs. Smith Jr. is a 12-round cruiserweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Star Boxing. The event will be available worldwide to all subscribers on DAZN, both live and on demand.

Tickets for Zurdo vs. Smith Jr. are priced at $200, $150, $100 and $50 plus applicable fees. A limited amount of Golden Boy VIP Experience tickets will also be available for purchase with exclusive merchandise and fight night upgrades included. Standard and VIP tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or GoldenBoyPromotions.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.StarBoxing.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @StarBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy, www.facebook.com/StarBoxing and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy, @StarBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #ZurdoSmith