Los Angeles, USA, October 2, 2024: On November 16, the Saudi capital Riyadh will host the “Latino Night,” bringing together top names in the world of boxing as part of “Riyadh Season 2024.” The event, organized by Golden Boy Promotions—one of the leading boxing promotion companies—will take place at “The Venue,” one of the new zones in Riyadh Season. The main event will be co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and BOXXER.
During a press conference held this evening in Los Angeles, it was announced that the “Latino Night” will be the first event of Riyadh Season to be broadcast free to boxing fans worldwide. DAZN will stream the major fight night globally for free, with additional broadcasters in the region to be announced soon.
The event is expected to be one of the largest celebrations of Latino talent in the boxing world. It will feature a unification battle between WBA Cruiserweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez of Mexico, who continues his pursuit to become the undisputed world champion in the division, and WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Chris Billam-Smith of the UK, who enters the fight after three consecutive successful title defenses.
In the co-main event, former unified champion and U.S. Olympian Jose Ramirez will face dangerous undefeated contender and WBO No. 1 ranked challenger Arnold Barboza Jr. in a 12-round lightweight WBO title eliminator. The card also includes a highly anticipated lightweight bout between Mexico’s William “El Camarón” Zepeda and former IBF World Champion Tevin “2X” Farmer in a 10-round clash.
Additionally, in collaboration with Miguel Cotto Promotions, a world title unification fight in the minimumweight division will be held between historic WBO Champion Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo from Puerto Rico and the longest-reigning WBO champion in this category, Thammanoon “Knockout CP Freshmart” Niyomtrong, scheduled for 12 rounds.
The night will open with a 12-round WBA super lightweight title eliminator between WBA No. 1 contender Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. from Chicago and Oscar “La Migraña” Duarte.
Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, WBA Cruiserweight Champion said, “I’m really excited to be here, to be a part of the Latino night. I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16. I’ve been putting everything into training, a lot of work, hard work. Thank you, everyone.”
Chris Billam-Smith, WBO Cruiserweight Champion said, “This opportunity for me is huge. It’s a unification like Ben spoke about. I’ve been written off many times before. Last time out against Richard Riakporhe. I was going into his backyard, his soccer stadium, and it was all about him, and it was his night, and I went and scored the party, and unfortunately for the Latinos, on November 16, I’ll be doing exactly the same again. All respect to Zurdo and see you on Friday night. Thank you.”
Jose Ramirez, U.S. Olympian and Former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion, said, “It’s a great fight. I’m looking forward to it. It’s time for me to make a statement. And this is one of those fights where I’m gonna make a statement and get those belts back. I’m ready for this mentally. I’ve been under the lights, the big lights, and I have the experience, and I have the strength. I think my biggest enemy in the sport of boxing was my inactivity. The last time I fought twice was in 2019 and that’s when I successfully defended my WBC and unified titles, knocking out Hooker. So the goal was to always become undisputed, which I got there. It’s honorable Barbosa saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on.”
Arnold Barboza Jr., Super Lightweight World Title Contender, said, “You know, it’s a fight that I’ve been wanting since 2019. I respect Jose Ramirez, the fighter. I respect Jose Ramirez, the person. But this is personal. Like I said, I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened. I’ve tried every form, you know. I called him out so many times. So that didn’t work out. I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight. Like I said, this fight is personal. You know, I’m coming with everything.”
Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, commented during the press conference, “When I say this card is stacked, that may be an understatement. We have two championship unification fights culminating with a cruiserweight barnburner between Gilberto Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith. We have a tremendous fight in the red-hot 140-pound division between former two-time World Champion Jose Ramirez and the undefeated no. 1 contender Arnold Barboza. We have a world champion fighting for the third time in 2024. We have the most exciting fighter in the sport with William Zepeda. We have contenders, prospects and so much more, and you’ll get to hear from many of these fighters today.”
Ben Shalom, founder and CEO of BOXXER, added, “This is about hard work and dedication. Chris Billam-Smith has become a superstar in British boxing from nowhere. At one point around European level, many people counted now. Many people didn’t think he would get to world level. We invested in him. He’s got the best resume now in the whole division. This is Latino night. I’m very excited for it, but believe me, you’ve made a mistake here, Oscar. This is Chris Billam-Smith’s time to pick up another belt. Good luck Zurdo, good luck Oscar and we’re coming.”
Bernard Hopkins, Golden Boy Promotions Partner, said, “To my left you have an opportunity to shine across the world, especially the boxing world on my right, they got a chance to do the same thing. We will become spectators, and we better watch something special. So enjoy this free fight.”
Golden Boy Promotions’ Chief Business Officer, Phillip Button, expressed his excitement about partnering with Riyadh Season, stating: “We are thrilled to work with Riyadh Season to promote ‘Latino Night’ and expand Golden Boy’s global footprint.”
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