British star Chris Billam-Smith loses cruiserweight unification title fight against Gilberto Ramirez – as Eddie Howe and his Newcastle players watch on from ringside in Saudi Arabia

Chris Billam-Smith lost his WBA cruiserweight belt to Gilberto Ramirez, as the Mexican confidently won by unanimous decision in Saudi Arabia.

The judges scorecards read as follows: 116-112; 116-12; and 116-113. 

Entering the ring as a WBA champion, Ramirez will leave Riyadh with two of the four major belts in his collection – only Jai Opetaia (IBF) and Norair Mikaeljan (WBC) stand in the way of him becoming the undisputed champion at 200lbs. 

Saturday night marked the second loss of Billam-Smith’s career, his last coming in 2019 to Richard Riakporhe – he now falls to 20-2 in his professional record.

It was also the Brit’s first time fighting outside of the UK, with some huge stars showing up for the occasion.

Eddie Howe and some members of his Newcastle squad sat ringside as Billam-Smith struggled to deal with the onslaught from Ramirez. 

Eddie Howe watched as his fellow Brit suffered just the second loss of his professional career

Jacob Murphy (left), Harvey Barnes (centre) and Matt Targett (right) sat ringside in Riyadh

Also in attendance were England internationals Joe Willock and Nick Pope, as well as £10million summer signing William Osula.

Newcastle are currently in Saudi Arabia for warm weather training, as they prepare for their home fixture against West Ham on November 25.

Howe’s side lie eighth in the Premier League and are looking to maximise their preparation during the two-week international break with some high intensity training in a tough environment.

After the loss, Billam-Smith was graceful in defeat, complimenting Ramirez’s performance and recognising his opponent’s ability to stop him from boxing his own style.

‘He’s very skilled, I knew he was, but the irony of it is that consistency. He stole my mantra off me,’ he told Sky Sports.

‘As the rounds went on, I lost that speed. I was having good spells, but it was hard to keep hurting him.

‘He was very clever, very smart boxer and it’s the reason he’s only lost to Bivol. There’s always more you can do in camp but I left it all in there tonight. It’s very disappointing.’