It had appeared written that for some time Chris Billam-Smith would fight for a world title in front of his lively fans at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium.
Fights with either WBA champion Arsen Goulamirian or IBF ruler Jai Opetaia seemed possible and easier to make, but only a few days after some social media back and forths with WBO king Lawrence Okolie, the former campmates signed to fight and so this weekend (May 27), having shared around 300 sparring rounds, they fight for Okolie’s crown in front of Billam-Smith’s crowd.
Promoter Ben Shalom thought that even after the boxers’ online exchanges the fight would be difficult to make.
“It was easier than I thought but probably just a result of just circumstance,” admitted the head of Boxxer. “I think when Lawrence Okolie, for him, had a disappointing performance [going the distance with New Zealand’s David Light on March 25] he was looking for a big opportunity and a big fight and I think that’s what has caused this. I think it gave Chris the confidence to jump in and I think it gave Lawrence the ability to go straight in to a big fight. I was surprised. When we signed Lawrence, I never thought we’d be making this fight.”
It came out of leftfield for many, even if it makes sense on several levels. The fighters used to share a trainer in Shane McGuigan but Okolie, a recent Boxxer and Sky acquisition from Matchroom and DAZN, had his first fight for Sugar Hill against Light and he has unexpectedly wound up in Billam-Smith’s sights.
“We gave Chris a couple of options and he chose Lawrence Okolie in the end, out of everything,” Shalom added. “That’s what makes the fight really interesting, because Shane and Chris are really the ones that sparked the conversation. They obviously know him [Okolie] extremely well. They obviously have a gameplan. Routine in boxing is important, so when you’ve got Chris who has now been active, who’s been fighting and stepping up each time and having big fights in Bournemouth – seems to have the wind behind him – obviously with the same trainer he’s been with for years and in the same gym versus a guy who’s obviously changed promoter and manager but also country [Okolie is living in Dubai] and trainer, those things as well… I think he was only with Sugar a few weeks before their first fight [against Light]. There’s a lot up in the air on Lawrence’s side and at this level that could make all the difference. And with Chris in the stadium and the fans… I think it’s extremely interesting because no one really knows what Lawrence Okolie is going to turn up.”
Okolie has scored some devastating knockouts, but he has also caused people to switch off through some monotonous fights that have drawn boos and catcalls from those in attendance. You never know what you will see with an Okolie fight, but is there a danger that Okolie sucks the life out of 15,000 Bournemouth fight fans who are relishing the chance of seeing Billam-Smith continue his exciting current run at home.
The challenger followed a Fight of the Year contender against Isaac Chamberlain with a Knockout of the Year contender against Armend Xhoaxhaj in front of two lively crowds at the Bournemouth International Centre in a city that has been starved of big-time boxing.
“I think this crowd will be particularly hard to mute as we’ve seen at the BIC, but domestic world titles don’t happen very often and I think that is part of what’s sold here,” Shalom continued. “We’ve managed to get an extension on the licence, selling more tickets than they can sell in a Premier League game, which the season ticket holders are complaining about, and they’ve just got so behind it. I think it’s going to be hard to stop this occasion.
“I think we’re going to see a different type of fight and that’s what Lawrence is fighting for. He’s not just fighting to beat Chris Billam-Smith here, he’s fighting to prove he can be in exciting fights and he knows that’s what pays the bills at the end of the day. British world title fights are a lot more interesting opportunities and I think that’s why we made this fight.”
The odd man out in the Boxxer stable is Richard Riakporhe. He defeated Billam-Smith via split decision when the two were upcoming prospects and he remains without a world title or a title fight of his own. The loss is the only one on Billam-Smith’s 17-1 record. Okolie is 19-0, Riakporhe is 16-0.
“We believe Richard will fight for his own world title this summer,” Shalom continued. “We are finalising the details on that and hopefully he comes through that and we see a huge domestic unification fight. But Richard wanted to fight for a world title, as did Chris. Richard’s not got a world title and so they both now get to fight for a world title and we will be announcing Richard’s fight in the next week or so.”
Is Goulamirian the front runner, as speculated?
“He was one of the guys we were in talks with [for Billam-Smith before the Okolie fight was signed] and he’s someone we are looking to bring over to the UK,” said Shalom.
