Zurdo vs. Usyk: What the Fighters’ Promoters Are Saying

Recently, WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) expressed his desire to face Ukrainian heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), who currently holds the WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBO belts.

Golden Boy Promotions founder and CEO Oscar De La Hoya revealed that the winner of the November 16 fight between Ramirez and WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) could be in line to challenge the two-time undisputed champion Usyk.

"I’ve heard that the special heavyweight world champion intends to move down to cruiserweight to face the winner of Saturday’s fight. Oleksandr Usyk is considering the possibility of fighting the victor of the Ramirez vs. Billam-Smith clash. This highlights the significance of this matchup," De La Hoya said.

Meanwhile, K2 Promotions head Alex Krassyuk, representing Usyk, emphasized that the Ukrainian remains fully focused on his immediate goal—his December 21 rematch with Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs).

"Our next opponent is Tyson Fury. After that, we’ll decide what’s next. Oscar is doing his job promoting Zurdo as best he can. That’s his role as a promoter," said Krassyuk.

For more details on the stats and odds for the unification bout between Gilberto Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith, check here.