“Great win against Zurdo. Something I didn’t expect,” Billam-Smith told Ring Magazine.

“I thought Zurdo would beat him. I thought he had more size and good timing. I thought the smaller gloves would support him more than Benavidez, but Benavidez obviously had more power and kept the speed. So a good performance.”

Benavidez’s victory over Ramirez sparked a debate about the future of the unified cruiserweight champion, including whether he would eventually be able to move up again.

Asked if Benavidez could fight at heavyweight, Billam-Smith said he believed the Mexican star could be successful there.

“He could do it,” Billam-Smith said. “And I’ll probably win a lot of fights, mostly on points, I guess, just because the size would be too substantial.”

At the same time, Billam-Smith noted the challenges of competing with the biggest competitors in the division.

“You look at the photos Wardley took that night and things like that,” Billam-Smith said.

Billam-Smith is preparing for his fight with Ryan Rozicki on June 6, but the former WBO cruiserweight champion made it clear he was impressed with what Benavidez did against Ramirez.

It is unclear whether Benavidez will ultimately decide to move up to heavyweight. For now, his victory over Ramirez continues to spark debate about his place among boxing’s biggest names.

Shakur Stevenson signed a contract with Zuffa Boxing, and the confirmation came not from the promotion, but from a rival. Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn, who promoted Stevenson during his January victory over Teofimo Lopez, told reporters on Monday that the junior welterweight champion had joined the company backed by TKO-backed Dana White. Hearn broke the news at his own press conference for Anthony Joshua at Matchroom, ahead of any announcement from Zuffa himself.

“Shakur signed with Zuffa, so that will be his continued development,” Hearn told Fight Hub TV. The move isn’t official yet, according to BoxingScene, though two people familiar with the talks described an announcement as imminent. Zuffa tends to confirm larger transfers at its own events, which leaves Hearn as the public source of information about the deal for now.

The signing of the agreement has been talked about for weeks. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated was first reported in early May that Stevenson was finalizing terms after leaving Top Rank, and White hinted at this at the Zuffa Boxing 06 press conference on May 10, replying “No? Probably” when asked if the promotion had announced him.

Stevenson (28) has a record of 25-0, 11 knockouts and is the holder of the WBO and The Ring junior welterweight titles won on January 31 at Madison Square Garden by decision over Lopez. He is a world champion in four weight categories.

Hearn praised the player but questioned the motives behind the move. He said Zuffa pays its fighters roughly five times the rest of the market and asked who the promotion would match Stevenson with, raising the prospect of receiving $15 million to fight with O’Shaquie Foster as an example. He called this approach unsustainable and predicted it would not be sustainable. The $15 million figure represents the amount Conor Benn was reported to have earned for a single fight with Zuffa in February before he signed a multi-fight extension.

Anthony Joshua believes Tyson Fury should consider fighting Moses Itauma if he is stern about the advice he previously gave him.

Fury recently suggested that Joshua should fight an undefeated heavyweight prospect as Joshua searched for an opponent for his July 25 return. Joshua instead agreed to face Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia while Fury is still looking for an opponent for his planned August return.

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Last update: 2026/06/05 at 16:03