Zurdo Ramirez and Joe Smith Jr. will now face each other in a WBA cruiserweight eliminator on October 7th, 2023.
The fight has been upgraded to give the winner an immediate shot at a world title, which is significant in light of the two fighters’ recent setbacks. Ramirez will have his first bout since he lost to Dmitry Bivol via a unanimous decision as the latter retained his WBA light heavyweight title. Thereafter, the Mexican failed to make the light heavyweight limit for his fight with Gabriel Rosado. In fact, Ramirez weighed in at 182.6 pounds which saw the fight being pulled. As such, the crusierweight fight couldn’t be more timely. Meanwhile, Smith aims to bounce back from his second-round-stoppage loss to Artur Beterbiev. A win, therefore, would give him another crack at a title.
In chief support, Bektemir Melikuziev faces Alantez Fox in a WBA intercontinental super middleweight title fight. Elsewhere on the card, Darius Fulghum squares off against Alan Campa in a light heavyweight bout. Meanwhile, Eric Tudor and Jose Sanchez open the card in a super welterweight bout. The previously confirmed John Ramirez vs. Ronal Batista WBA junior bantamweight title eliminator has now been moved to October 21st, 2023.
Updated Fight Card: Zurdo Ramirez vs. Joe Smith Jr. To Fight In WBA Cruiserweight Eliminator Bout https://t.co/BHEqPEOcIH
— Rudy (@RudyLTX) October 4, 2023
Main card
Gilberto Zurdo Ramirez vs. Joe Smith Jr – cruiserweight
Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Alantez Fox – super middleweight
Darius Fulghum vs. Alan Campa – super middleweight
Eric Tudor vs. Jose Luis Sanchez – super welterweight
Undercard
Tristan Kalkreuth vs. Aaron Casper – cruiserweight
Daniel Luna vs. Erick Garcia Benitez – super lightweight
Jahyae Brown vs. Victor Toney – junior middleweight
Rajon Chance vs. Orlando Perez Zapata – featherweight