Bournemouth hero Chris Billam-Smith upset the odds and ended the unbeaten record and title reign of Lawrence Okolie on a dramatic night in his hometown of Bournemouth.
Billam-Smith won a majority decision by margins of 116-107 and 115-108 with an astonishing card of 112-112, even though Billam-Smith had won five 10-8 rounds.
“This is perfect, against a friend like Lawrence, but I believe I did enough to do it and I felt the scorecards showed that,” said Billam-Smith, who dedicated his victory to his mother.
The now former champion was down in the fourth, 10th and 11th rounds and docked points in the fifth and the seventh by referee Marcus McDonnell, who had his hands full all night.
Okolie is now 19-1 (14), Billam-Smith improves to 18-1 (12) and Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium was jumping for their hometown hero, who fulfilled his lifetime dream of winning a world title on his hometown’s football pitch.
The former friends and gymmates, who were together at McGuigan’s Gym and sparred hundreds of rounds together, shared 12 physical rounds but the story was the destination at the end of the 12 rounds and where Billam-Smith was, not the 12-round journey he took to get there.
The fighters were eager to get at one another before the first bell sounded. Billam-Smith was the aggressor but Okolie thudded in some rights to the body and head. Billam-Smith moved laterally, side to side and jabbed his way in. Okolie invested in the body in a physical opener.
Okolie was trying to both measure and time Billam-Smith with his right hand. Referee Marcus McDonnell warned Okolie for clinching as the fighters jostled for advantages. Okolie looked strong in close but the challenger nodded knowingly towards Shane McGuigan in his corner at the end of the second.
Okolie picked up a warning for hitting to the back of the head as the third opened and McDonnell stopped the fight to warn him for holding moments later. Okolie was having success landing the right downstairs. It was tense, and McDonnell again warned Okolie for pushing the Bournemouth man away from a clinch.
The champion landed a cuffing left hook early in the fourth while a Billam-Smith left hook caught Okolie ducking low and Billam-Smith was well in the ascendency. Okolie was in reverse and desperately trying to hold to ride out the storm. The delirious Bournemouth crowd roared and McGuigan screamed instructions at his fighter but Okolie survived the worst round of his professional career.
The crowd was at a fever pitch before the fifth. There had been rumours Okolie was tight the weight but he came out looking strong and the 15,000 in the crowd, Billam-Smith crowd on the pitch of his beloved Bournemouth football club, collectively bounced in anticipation. That was amplified when Okolie had a point docked for another infraction by McDonnell.
Okolie scored with a right in the sixth but Billam-Smith peppered some jabs back his way as a riposte but the champion appeared to have ridden out the storm as the Bournemouth fans sang, “Chris Billam-Smith is one of our own” and McDonnell once again warned Okolie of losing points as he fell in and held behind his punches.
Okolie continued to slam away rights to the body in the seventh and McGuigan was urging McDonnell to discipline Okolie for his ungainly tactics and moments later another point was deducted by McDonnell who was tired of seeing Okolie clinching. That forced Okolie to be aggressive in the dying moments and his pressure saw Billam-Smith forced into the ropes but no knockdown was called.
The champion picked up where he left off in the eighth and was boxing with more authority but as the round progressed Okolie was again in close, not working and the crowd booed. An Okolie left hook steadied the challenger and on the bell an Okolie right hand dislodged the challenger’s mouthpiece.
It was messy, untidy but always engaging. Billam-Smith would move sometimes only a matter of inches to make Okolie miss and McDonnell again verbally warned the Londoner for holding.
That was contagious as SugarHill Steward in Okolie’s corner was also warned by the official and later in the session, a glancing left put Okolie down and he was given a count. That call looked harsh.
But Billam-Smith tried to engage and he was caught by heavy shots that sent the sweat spraying into the ringside seats. Both were shattered. Okolie was warned for using the shoulder and then got caught by a left hook but Okolie was still a danger and landed a right hand before the bell that Billam-Smith rode out and smiled at.
Going into the 11th Billam-Smith needed only to survive to win but he continued to put himself in harm’s way and he was gashed above the left eye. Billam-Smith threw in a left hook but took a right in return and next Okolie was warned for using his head by McDonnell. The crowd tried to will an increasingly leg-weary Billam-Smith over the line, and Okolie was again down moments before the end of the 11th from an innocuous looking left.
If the Vitality Stadium had a roof, the crowd would have lifted it off before the start of the 12th and final round and Okolie’s vaunted power made him a danger as he still landed occasional rights and looked for the equaliser that never came.
Billam-Smith’s dream had come true. It wasn’t a fight for the ages but no one will ever be able to take this feeling away from him.
On the undercard, exciting veteran Sam Eggington stopped Joe Pigford in five, Olympic bronze medallist Karriss Artingstall outscored Jade Taylor in an eight-rounder and Lee Cutler bested Stanley Stannard over 10 rounds.
