Joe Smith Jr vs Gilberto Ramirez Set for October 7
Two former world champions are set to collide later this year in October.
It has been announced that Gilberto Ramirez would collide against Joe Smith Jr on October 7, 2023, in a cruiserweight bout at The Chelsea of the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Moving on 🆙
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 21, 2023
Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez and Joe Smith Jr. face off at cruiserweight, October 7, live on https://t.co/FoiaUucafv 🔥#ZurdoSmith pic.twitter.com/FO1tigFwZ8
Gilberto Ramirez will make his cruiserweight debut with this bout as he steps on the weighing scale against the former Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Smith Jr.
Ramirez is coming off his first-ever career loss in November against Dmitry Bivol. Gilberto Ramirez challenged Bivol for the WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight Title but failed to win the gold.
Ramirez missed weight in March this year by 7.6 lbs before his fight against Gabe Rosado. This massive weight miss led to the fight being cancelled. It seems that the weight miss has forced him to move up.
Joe Smith Jr is also coming off a loss against Artur Beterbiev where he lost his WBO Light Heavyweight Title as well. It only took 2 rounds for Beterbiev to end the match against Smith Jr.
Gilberto Ramirez is excited to take over the cruiserweight division as he looks forward to adding another title to his resume. Whereas Joe Smith Jr. is looking forward to bringing some happiness and inspiration back to his family via his performance.
Now, it remains to be seen who will rebound from their previous loss when these two former world champions will collide on October 7.