Promoter Oscar De La Hoya has hinted that the winner of Gilberto Ramírez and Chris Billam-Smith could find himself in line for a fight against heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday.

Ramírez (46-1, 30 KOs) will put his WBA cruiserweight title on the line against WBO champion Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the winner also moving one step closer to claiming the undisputed title comes. crown.

De La Hoya said he believes the winner could have a shot at fighting Usyk, who has discussed a return to cruiserweight after his rematch against Tyson Fury in December.

“The winner can obviously go on to bigger and better things. For example, there have been talks about Zurdo (Ramírez) fighting Usyk,” De La Hoya told ESPN. “Usyk is considering fighting at cruiserweight, and I strongly believe that the winner of this Saturday night may be able to win the sweepstakes and get a shot at Usyk after this win.

“It is very feasible that Usyk comes down to (the) cruiserweight division and challenges the winner of Saturday night. So yes, it is exciting times for the cruiserweight division, exciting times for boxing and exciting times for Ramírez and Billam-Smith. “

In June, Usyk told the “3 Knockdown Rule” podcast: “I think after the rematch I might go down in weight to cruiserweight. I want more (fights at) cruiserweight. Maybe I can be unchallenged for the second time in the cruiserweight division, it’s my plan.”

Ramírez, whose only professional defeat came against Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight in 2022, said he wants to become the undisputed cruiserweight champion and would welcome the opportunity to fight Usyk.

“Yes, of course that’s a fight people want to see, and I’m also interested because (Usyk’s) undisputed champion,” he told ESPN.

Billam-Smith has long been linked with a fight against undefeated IBF champion Jai Opetaia, but both Ramírez and De La Hoya warned that the Mexican is ready to throw a spanner in the works on Saturday.

“That fight won’t happen because I’m going to win the title on Saturday night and that’s the fight I want too. I want to be a unified champion and that’s my goal and that’s why I have to get past this guy on Saturday,” Ramírez said. said.

De La Hoya, meanwhile, said he thinks the fight will be an exciting one.

“Mexico versus Great Britain in the ring will be fireworks and it will be a really exciting, exciting fight. The winner can obviously go on to bigger and better things,” said the former world champion.

“To overlook Ramírez is a big mistake. I understand that there is unification, that there is more world championship titles up for grabs, that there are many potential great matchups in Britain, but Zurdo Ramírez is a fighter who is in there with the very best.”