‘Latino Night’ to feature WBA and WBO cruiserweight world championship unification battle between Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith

‘Latino Night’ to feature WBA and WBO cruiserweight world championship unification battle between Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith
The event, “Latino Night,” will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Nov. 16. (Supplied)
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Updated 11 September 2024
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‘Latino Night’ to feature WBA and WBO cruiserweight world championship unification battle between Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith

‘Latino Night’ to feature WBA and WBO cruiserweight world championship unification battle between Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season and Golden Boy Promotions announced an inaugural show as part of the broader partnership. The event, “Latino Night,” will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Nov. 16.

Scheduled to be one of the biggest celebrations of Latino boxing talent, “Latino Night” will see the history-making WBA cruiserweight world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs) of Mazatlan, Mexico, in hot pursuit of becoming undisputed in the division. His first step will be challenging WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) of Surrey, UK, who is coming off the heels of three straight title defenses.

Ramirez left his mark in the sport as the first Mexican to become a super middleweight and cruiserweight world champion and will be looking to take over the cruiserweight division. Billam-Smith is an English professional boxer who has held the WBO cruiserweight title since 2023 and has held the European, British, and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles between 2019 and 2022.

In the co-main event, former US Olympian and unified champion Jose Ramirez (29-1, 18 KOs) of Fresno, California, will face the undefeated title contender and currently No. 1 WBO-ranked Arnold Barboza Jr. (30-0, 11 KOs) of Los Angeles, California, in a 12-round WBO super lightweight world title eliminator fight.

Also on the card, the unstoppable knockout machine, William “El Camaron” Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) of San Mateo Atenco, Mexico, will challenge former American IBF world champion Tevin “2X” Farmer (33-6-1, 8 KOs) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a 10-round lightweight fight. In association with Miguel Cotto Promotions and defending his WBO Minimumweight World Championship for the fourth time, the history-making Puerto Rican Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (10-0, 7 KOs) of Villalba, Puerto Rico, will measure up against Queretaro, Mexico’s Edwin “Canito” Cano (13-2-1, 4 KOs) in a 12-round world title bout. Opening the historic show with a 12-round WBA super lightweight eliminator fight, Chihuahua, Mexico’s Oscar “La Migrana” Duarte (27-2-1, 22 KOs) will face No. 1 WBA-ranked Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. (21-2-1, 8 KOs) of Chicago, Illinois.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, said: “We are looking forward to staging our first event as part of our partnership with Golden Boy Promotions with ‘Latino Night.’ This card features some of the best Latino fighters around and continues our drive to deliver top-tier boxing events by giving fans throughout the world the fights they want to see.”

Oscar De La Hoya, chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said: “His Excellency and I have the exact same vision — to match the best versus the best for the fans of our sport. From a world championship unification fight to battles between former champions and on-the-rise contenders to a stacked undercard of prospects, this show will feature everything great that boxing has to offer.”

Philip Button, chief business officer at Golden Boy Promotions said: “We are excited to partner with Riyadh Season to promote Latino Night and further expand Golden Boy’s business globally.”

Ben Shalom, founder and CEO of BOXXER, said: “Riyadh Season continues to deliver the very best matches at the top of the sport, and we are delighted to be working with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions to present another epic fight as co-promoters of this huge cruiserweight world title unification battle. Gilberto Ramirez is a great champion, but Chris Billam-Smith will be coming full of confidence and ready to unify the division.”

Ramirez, WBA cruiserweight world champion, said: “I’m excited to make this fight happen with Chris Billam-Smith. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m looking forward to becoming the unified champion in this division. I’ve always said this was my division (cruiserweight), and I’m happy for the opportunity to showcase my skills at this level on a global stage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s truly an honor to be a Mexican warrior and to showcase what true Mexican boxing is all about while bringing my culture to a global audience. Additionally, I hope to be the bridge between Mexico and Saudi Arabia, making both sides proud. I would like to give a special thanks to my team, 3 Point Management, Golden Boy Promotions, Riyadh Season, the WBA, WBO, and everyone else involved in making this happen.”

Alalshikh has also confirmed that “Latino Night” will be broadcast for free globally. Further details of where to watch this card will follow.

Riyadh Season brings together world-class art, music, food, theater and a wide array of a diverse set of events to the capital of Saudi Arabia for an unparalleled winter entertainment experience.


Motta tight-lipped on Pogba’s Juve future after doping ban reduction

Motta tight-lipped on Pogba’s Juve future after doping ban reduction
Updated 35 sec ago
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Motta tight-lipped on Pogba’s Juve future after doping ban reduction

Motta tight-lipped on Pogba’s Juve future after doping ban reduction
Pogba, a World Cup winner with Les Bleus in 2018, will be able to return to competitive football from March 11 next year
“The club will assess the situation and make a decision if necessary. Paul was a great player but he hasn’t played for a long time,” coach Motta told reporters

ROME: Thiago Motta refused on Saturday to say whether Paul Pogba had a future at Juventus after the France midfielder’s four-year doping ban was slashed to 18 months.
Pogba, a World Cup winner with Les Bleus in 2018, will be able to return to competitive football from March 11 next year following Friday’s ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Italian media report that Juve might still seek to terminate Pogba’s contract, which runs until the end of June 2026 and is reportedly worth up to 10 million euros ($10.97 million) a season.
“The club will assess the situation and make a decision if necessary. Paul was a great player but he hasn’t played for a long time,” coach Motta told reporters ahead of Sunday’s Serie A fixture with Cagliari.
“All I’m thinking about is our match tomorrow, nothing else really matters as far as I’m concerned.”
Juventus refused to comment on Pogba, who tested positive for testosterone following the Turin club’s opening Serie A fixture of last season, a 3-0 win at Udinese in August 2023.
He was provisionally suspended the following month and then banned for four years by the Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal in February, a sanction which put the 31-year-old’s career at risk.
Pogba’s representatives said the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States.
Pogba collected four Serie A titles in his first stint at Juventus between 2012 and 2016 but had a string of problems on and off the pitch after his 2022 return from Manchester United.
During the 2022-23 season, Pogba made just 10 appearances for the club, mainly due to a knee injury that also ruled him out of the World Cup in Qatar, where France lost out to Argentina in the final in December 2022.
He was also the victim of a case of organized extortion, for which six men, including his brother Mathias, were last month ordered to stand trial.
Since Pogba last played for his club at Empoli in early September last year, Juve have switched manager from Massimiliano Allegri to Motta and brought in a host of new players as part of a rebuild.
Juve, who finished third last term without Pogba, splashed out over 120 million euros on midfielders Teun Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz and Khephren Thuram in a busy summer on the transfer market.

Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace

Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
Updated 35 min 40 sec ago
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Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace

Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
  • Arne Slot has now won nine of his first 10 games since succeeding Jurgen Klopp
  • Victory also came at a cost for Liverpool as goalkeeper Alisson Becker limped off in the closing stages ahead of a much more testing run of fixtures after the international break

LONDON: Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points thanks to Diogo Jota’s winner in a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Arne Slot has now won nine of his first 10 games since succeeding Jurgen Klopp, but will be frustrated that the visitors invited a late onslaught from the winless Eagles.
Victory also came at a cost for Liverpool as goalkeeper Alisson Becker limped off in the closing stages ahead of a much more testing run of fixtures after the international break.
Defeat leaves Palace still in the bottom three with just three points from their opening seven games.
Slot’s seamless start to succeeding saw him become the first Liverpool manager to win eight of his first nine games after beating Bologna 2-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
However, the Dutchman has been quick to point out that tougher tests lie ahead of his side’s Premier League title credentials.
Liverpool face Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester City in their next six Premier League games.
Slot saw both sides of his team at Selhurst Park as they failed to make the most of their first-half dominance, but held out at the back for a fifth clean sheet in seven league games.
Palace did have the ball in the net inside 30 seconds but Eddie Nketiah had strayed offside before flicking in Ismaila Sarr’s cross.
Liverpool quickly took control and the lead after just nine minutes when Jota stole in ahead of Marc Guehi and Trevoh Chalobah to prod in Cody Gakpo’s low cross.
Jota was guilty of passing up the visitors’ best chance to add to their lead before the break.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s teasing cross did not get the finish it deserved as the Portugal international sliced well wide of the target.
Palace finally flickered into life in first-half stoppage time when Sarr was denied by a fine save from Alisson after finding a gap in the Liverpool defense.
The pattern continued into the second period with Liverpool unable to put Palace to bed.
Salah should have done better when he fired straight at Dean Henderson after being picked out by a perfect Virgil Van Dijk pass.
Jota then headed wide a glorious chance from Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick.
Slot’s men were nearly made to pay after Jean-Philippe Mateta’s introduction perked up the Palace attack.
Alisson got down low to his left to parry Nketiah’s effort before the Brazilian beat away Eberechi Eze’s powerful strike.
But Liverpool were dealt a body blow with 12 minutes remaining when Alisson pulled up with a muscle injury.
Normal back up Caoimhin Kelleher was also absent due to illness so Czech international Vitezslav Jaros was forced into his Liverpool debut.
Jaros had to make one huge save from Eze and also rushed impressively off his line to deny Mateta a sight of goal.
Arsenal and Manchester City could cut the gap at the top back to one point later on Saturday.
But Liverpool will go into the upcoming international break at the summit and happy with the start to life under Slot.


Djokovic ‘shakes rust off’ to make third round of Shanghai Masters

Djokovic ‘shakes rust off’ to make third round of Shanghai Masters
Updated 05 October 2024
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Djokovic ‘shakes rust off’ to make third round of Shanghai Masters

Djokovic ‘shakes rust off’ to make third round of Shanghai Masters
  • The Serbian beat American Alex Michelsen in a thrilling two-set match that finished 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (11/9)
  • Sinner dispatched Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-4, while Alcaraz made short work of China’s Shang Juncheng, winning 6-2, 6-2

SHANGHAI: Novak Djokovic said it took time to “get the rust off” as he fought through two tiebreaks to make his way into the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.
The Serbian beat American Alex Michelsen in a thrilling two-set match that finished 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (11/9).
Meanwhile Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz showed why they were top in the world as they raced through to the next stage with confident straight-set wins.
Sinner dispatched Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-4, while Alcaraz made short work of China’s Shang Juncheng, winning 6-2, 6-2.
Four-time Shanghai champion Djokovic did not have it quite so easy against 43rd ranked Michelsen.
Introduced as the “Greatest Of All Time” as he walked onto the court, he received a rapturous welcome from the packed stadium.
But Michelsen started the first set strongly, breaking Djokovic early and going 1-4 up — to the displeasure of the crowd, fully behind the 37-year-old former world number one.
To their delight, the Serbian levelled, and then hit his stride in the tiebreak, winning it 7-3.
The reverse happened in the second set when it was 20-year-old Michelsen’s turn to catch up to take it to the tiebreak.
Djokovic admitted to being “surprised” by Michelsen.
“It took me a little bit of time to get the rust off and to start feeling better on the court,” he said.
“I was very glad to keep calm when it mattered in both tiebreaks.”
The crowd, already in a frenzy after Djokovic spoke Mandarin at the end of the match, went wild as he showed off a new trick — a sentence in the Shanghainese vernacular.
World number one Sinner has said he is not in a “comfortable” situation thanks to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal a decision by tennis authorities to clear him of wrongdoing after he twice tested positive for a steroid in March.
His recent blistering winning streak was broken by Alcaraz in the China Open final on Wednesday.
But there was no tiredness on display from either player on Saturday, with 23-year-old Sinner looking completely unruffled in the first set against the 93rd-ranked Daniel.
Daniel fell behind again in the second set and despite rallying halfway through to gently test Sinner, the Italian kept his cool, ending the set 6-4.
“I had only one practice session yesterday but I felt very comfortable on the court,” he said after the match.
Sinner will face Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Sunday.
“It will be a tough one tomorrow, very physical, because me and Tomas know each other quite well now,” he said.
Earlier, arch-rival Alcaraz also looked comfortable throughout, breaking in the first game, with teenager Shang unable to make much headway against the world number two.
Despite their enthusiasm for Shang, the crowd could not resist Alcaraz’s charm.
At the Spaniard’s encouragement, they broke into loud cheers when he won a particularly exciting rally in which he hit a tricky backwards shot to keep the point alive.
“I just had one practice then was straight into this match, so to be able to show this level in the first match, I’m just really proud,” 21-year-old Alcaraz said after the match.
Alcaraz will next face another Chinese player, wildcard Wu Yibing, who beat 25th seed Nicolas Jarry in the second round.
The tournament lost its second top-ten player on Saturday, as Andrey Rublev fell to 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik, joining Norwegian Casper Ruud on the notable casualties list.
The Russian, a finalist at last year’s Shanghai Masters, roared in jubilation after winning a tiebreaker to take the first set.
But 65th-ranked Mensik broke Rublev in the first game of the second set, and again in the fifth to draw even.
The Czech then came from behind in the third to beat the world number six for the second time this year, with a final score of 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 6-3.


Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova

Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
Updated 05 October 2024
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Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova

Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
  • The American former US Open champion beat Spain’s Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to close on an eighth title
  • In the other semifinal, Karolina Muchova disappointed the 15,000 crowd to beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-4

BEIJING: Coco Gauff fought back from a set down to battle into the China Open final on Saturday setting up a showdown with party-pooper Karolina Muchova.
The American former US Open champion beat Spain’s Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to close on an eighth title.
The 20-year-old faces Muchova after the 49th-ranked Czech silenced a capacity Beijing crowd to beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in straight sets.
Sixth-ranked Gauff has struggled for form in recent months and split with coach Brad Gilbert after her US Open defense ended in the last 16 in a blur of double-faults.
Gauff struggled again with her serve against Badosa, racking up 11 double-faults.
But she belatedly found a semblance of top form to down the former world number two in two hours, 20 minutes.
With a new coaching set-up in place, Gauff said that she had not really expected to be in the final.
“Has this week been my best tennis? In moments, yes,” said Gauff, the youngest player to reach the China Open decider since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
“I think today I reached some levels where I was playing my best tennis. Obviously, that’s not the case for the whole match.”
The 19th-ranked Badosa broke in the fifth game of the first set as Gauff’s problems with her serve resurfaced.
The eighth game was mammoth, with Gauff finally converting her eighth break point, and she celebrated by putting both arms in the air.
The jubilation was short-lived, as Badosa broke back immediately and sealed the set on her third set point when Gauff overhit a simple forehand return.
Badosa broke once more to start the second set and Gauff was in danger of losing her cool, whacking the sole of her foot with her racquet as she fell 2-0 down.
Gauff recovered her poise to twice break the Spaniard and take the set against a suddenly rattled Badosa.
It was the first set Badosa had dropped in Beijing and Gauff took that ascendancy into the deciding set as her opponent faded fast.
Gauff’s only title of the year so far came in Auckland in January.
In the other semifinal, Muchova disappointed the 15,000 crowd to beat a subdued Zheng 6-3, 6-4.
The Czech is the lowest-ranked player to reach the Beijing final since the tournament began in 2004.
Last year’s French Open finalist toppled top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals on Friday.
She eased through the first set against Paris gold medalist Zheng and was unrelenting in the second to ram home her advantage.
Serving to stay in the tournament, the 21-year-old Zheng dug deep to save two match points in the ninth game, but the reprieve was only very brief.
The 28-year-old Muchova was inside the top 10 this time last year but did not play for nearly 10 months after having wrist surgery.
She is pursuing only the second title of her career.
Gauff has won both their previous two meetings, most recently in the US Open semifinals last year on the way to clinching her first major crown.


Guardiola claims Premier League won’t delay season for Man City

Guardiola claims Premier League won’t delay season for Man City
Updated 05 October 2024
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Guardiola claims Premier League won’t delay season for Man City

Guardiola claims Premier League won’t delay season for Man City
  • Guardiola said City had asked the Premier League to postpone their first matches of the 2025-26 campaign to allow extra time to rest after the Club World Cup in the US

LONDON: Pep Guardiola claims the Premier League have refused to accept Manchester City’s request to start next season late due to their involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Guardiola said City had asked the Premier League to postpone their first matches of the 2025-26 campaign to allow extra time to rest after the Club World Cup in the United States.
Having already lost influential Spain midfielder Rodri for the rest of this season following his knee injury against Arsenal, Guardiola fears his players will be burnt out and at risk of injury because of the increased workload.
The Premier League champions’ season could run until July 13 if they reach the final of the expanded 32-team Club World Cup.
That could leave them just a four-week gap to squeeze in player holidays and preparations in time for the anticipated start of the next Premier League season on August 9 or 16.
There could be an even shorter break if City are involved in the Community Shield, as they have been for six of the last seven season.
But Guardiola said City’s plea for a longer recovery period had so far fallen on deaf ears and he does not expect that to change.
City already have a strained relationship with the Premier League as they fight 115 charges of alleged financial breaches, including a failure to co-operate with an investigation.
“The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone — and Chelsea, I think, all the teams that will go to the World Cup — the first two games to have more recovery. Thank you so much! They don’t postpone these games,” Guardiola said.
“I think the club asked the Premier League, for the first or second game, to postpone it one or two, three weeks, in the middle of the week, to have one more week or two more weeks’ holiday after the World Cup.”
Asked to clarify if a request had not been allowed, Guardiola said: “Absolutely not. The Premier League say yes to us? No. Absolutely not. It’s not going to happen.”
The Premier League has not commented but it is believed initial discussions were held over the possibility of postponing fixtures.
Whilst there was no outright refusal, City have not been given the impression any such application would succeed.