Saudi money man Turki Alalshikh has announced via social media that he and Golden Boy head Oscar De La Hoya have agreed to put out their duel-promoted, in-the-works November “Latino’s Night” card on free TV. Turki, who recently said it is his “dream” to put out quality, low-cost pay-per-view cards, writes in his tweet how “we care about boxing fans.”
The card, set to be finalized, should feature Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez squaring off with Chris Billam-Smith in a two-belt cruiserweight unification dust-up, William Zepeda and George Kambosos Jr. fighting at lightweight, and former 140-pound ruler Jose Carlos Ramirez facing Arnold Barboza. Rounding out the card will be Oscar Duarte Jurado against Kenneth Simms Jr. and Lester Martinez against Bektemir Melikuziev.
This is a solid card, for sure – and as a free TV card, what’s not to like?
As per Turki’s message on X:
“I just hung up the phone with my friend Oscar De La Hoya. We had a long talk, therefore I decided that the card of Latino’s Night in Riyadh Season with our partner Golden Boy will be free on TV networks and platforms all around the world. Any TV network or platform and cable TV interested in this event, kindly connect with us in Riyadh Season and Sela, especially in Mexico and South America. We care about boxing fans, and for that, this card is free.”
Alalshikh has his critics, for some reason, yet he continues to deliver. And Alalshikh working with De La Hoya and Golden Boy can surely only be a good thing.
The cruiserweight fight that would be the main event on the November card (exact date and location to be announced) could be good. Ramirez is the WBA champ at 200 pounds, and the Mexican is currently 46-1, while Britain’s Billam-Smith holds the WBO belt and he is currently 20-1. Who wins this fight, and might the winner move on to face IBF cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia?
