After a draining year inside and outside the ring, Chris Billam-Smith hopes to sign off 2022 on the cusp of a world title shot.
On Saturday, ‘The Gentleman’ is back home in Bournemouth to take on Armend Xhoxhaj, a final test that stands in the way of a shot at cruiserweight gold next year.
2022 has been his most rewarding period in the sport with fine victories over Tommy McCarthy and Isaac Chamberlain. But some of the months in between have been the most testing of his life, away from his new-born son Frank while sealed away from regular life in the unrelenting world of fight camp up at Shane McGuigan’s gym in Leyton.
While the life of a boxer is constantly about sacrifice, balancing that with his world title ambitions has been a difficult battle.
‘There have been a few emotional times in camp on the phone or on a video call,’ Billam-Smith told Metro.co.uk. ‘But they are the sacrifices I need to make, I know the reasons why I am making them. But it doesn’t make it any easier.
‘Missing birthdays, weddings, stag dos, I don’t ever see those as a sacrifice, as long as it was making me better, it didn’t matter. But when it is time away from my son, that’s the sacrifice. It has been hard. This camp even more so than the last one.
‘The last one [preparing for the Chamberlain fight in July], he was four weeks old when I went into camp and nine-and-a-half when I finished. It was really hard. This time, he has grown a bit more, it was a lot more difficult. Saying goodbye on the Sunday afternoon and knowing I’m not going to see him until the end of the week.
‘As soon as he was born, everything made sense, there was no outside noise. Everything became a bit more black and white, in terms of the things that need to be done, and that other things can wait. That is the whole process with me now. I know what I have got to do.’
Not just winning but winning in style is crucial for the reigning British and Commonwealth champion this weekend before a well-deserved Christmas break. Plans for next year are already beginning to shift into focus.
After two fights back on home turf, he is confident his maiden world title fight will be brought to AFC Bournemouth’s Dean Court, with the Cherries fan hopeful IBF champion Jai Opetaia, the man who sensationally dethroned Mairis Briedis in the summer, will agree to make the trip over.
‘They are talking about the stadium fight, probably in May or June when the [Premier League] season ends. That means so much. But if I have a flat performance on Saturday, I could wave goodbye to that because it is all about delivering and attracting people to it.
‘The title shot, that is what has been spoken about with BOXXER and everything. I understand it is boxing, there are always a lot of politics involved and things can get messed up along the way but from my point of view, it is this fight [against Xhoxhaj] and then onto the world title.’
While Billam-Smith and his old rival Richard Riakporhe both enjoyed a stellar 2022, the cruiserweight division failed to truly spark into life at the top of the division, with the exception of Opetaia’s upset.
WBO champion and Billam-Smith’s friend and training partner Lawrence Okolie has seen his hopes of unifying the division ground to a halt amid an ongoing dispute with his promoters, with WBA champion Arsen Goulamirian defending his strap against his Alexey Egorov in a fight that was almost three years in the making following string of delays and cancellations. WBC champion Ilunga Makabu meanwhile has not fought since January.
Eager to jumpstart the division at world title level, a showdown at Dean Court against Opetaia is for now the dream ticket for the Briton.
‘The Opetaia fight really excites me because he is the man who beat the man,’ he said. ‘Any of the belts would be great but the IBF is one of my favourites. That fight and the challenge it brings is the one that excites me the most.’
As for old foe Riakporhe? The south Londoner is the only man to have beaten CBS, edging a decision win in 2019. Still undefeated with two thrilling knockout wins this year, he has plans for his own world title stadium fight at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park.
Billam-Smith and Riakporhe, both tied to BOXXER and Sky Sports, are on almost identical trajectories and while the Bournemouth fighter says the fight was on the table for this month, a unification showdown between the two Britons looms large this time next year should all go according to plan.
‘We are always going to be linked,’ he continued. ‘We got offered him for this fight. We took the fight, I was ready. I think within about 24 hours of accepting the fight, from what my team told me, he’s turned it down because he wouldn’t fight me in Bournemouth, basically. Maybe the crowd scared him off.
‘We are always going to be linked but we can both go away and win world titles and come back for a huge fight. I know he’s been targeting WBC champion Makabu and that is a very winnable fight for him. If I go do my job, we have a huge unification fight on our hands. I can get my revenge and a world title belt to add to the collection.’
For now, focus must remain solely on Saturday’s opponent Xhoxhaj, in a fight where he has nothing to gain and everything to lose.
’There is huge amounts of pressure,’ Billam-Smith said. ‘People are expecting me to win this fight and win it well. We have seen it so many times in the past, a boxer has a flat performance in the fight before the big one and it gets a bit iffy in terms of them getting the title fight because of that.
‘I’ve got to put in a great performance Saturday to get people talking about me becoming a world champion. We are so close now.’
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