Isaac Chamberlain should fight Viddal Riley next, says WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith

Isaac Chamberlain should fight Viddal Riley next, says WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith.

Chamberlain won the British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles on Saturday when he expertly dispersed Mikael Lawal’s power-punching at York Hall.

The performance was impressive. “I thought Isaac boxed very well there. I thought Mikael showed the lack of experience and Isaac showed his wealth of experience in the fights he has had. I thought it was a very dominant display,” Billam-Smith said. Air sports.

“Mikael has power, but it doesn’t matter if you have the power – you have to know how to land it and put yourself in the position to land it. Otherwise there’s no point in having it. And that was actually the telling story.

“Isaac remained cute even in the last lap. It would have been very easy to run in the last lap. People run to stay safe but what he did was jab and choke because he knows Lawal’s power is long And that was the perfect thing to do on that last lap.”

The Bournemouth boxer, who won his world championship in May, had a thrilling fight with Chamberlain last year. However, the result over Lawal alone is not enough to earn Chamberlain a rematch with Billam-Smith.

He believes Chamberlain still has more work to do to establish himself as a world-class contender.

“I don’t think you can show (if you are at world level) in that fight. I don’t want to sound disrespectful to Lawal, but he is not the opponent who decides whether Isaac plays at world level or not,” Billam said. said Smith.

“He (Chamberlain) is not far away. We had a great fight and it depends on what you classify as world level, whether that is being a world champion or being able to be competitive in a world title fight.

“He has a lot of qualities, Isaac, but I think we need a better opponent for him and I think he’s probably a few fights away from that level.

“He needs a few more fights before he can play again. He’s probably in the top 15 of some governing bodies, but I think he needs more than that.”

The solution is for Chamberlain to fight Viddal Riley, a rising talent who became English champion in his last fight.

“It depends on what he wants to do. Continue fighting for a world title or take a fight like Viddal Riley, which is an interesting fight. It may be a bit too early for Viddal, but I believe he is willing to do that.” test himself and I think it’s a very interesting fight,” said Billam-Smith.

“As Viddal has a wealth of amateur experience, this will put him in a better position than Lawal tonight (Saturday).

“It’s the domestic fights that people want to see on TV. I’ve seen my fair share of domestic fights now and I think that’s a very intriguing fight for the fans, but also a very, very risky fight for maybe not many. reward for Isaac.

“Because if he loses the fight, he’s a guy who has only won the English one and Isaac has been above that level for a while, but if he wins it, it’s ‘well, Viddal wasn’t ready for it.’

“So you can understand why he wouldn’t want that fight. But as a fan it would be a great fight.”

But solid domestic confrontations are not only attractive to the audience, but also help in the development of boxers.

“These are the fights Viddal needs too. They are the ones he will need if he wants to advance to world and European level. It’s the fights he’s going to need,” Billam-Smith explained. .

“Isaac has fought a lot and you would make him the favorite if he takes that fight. But I would give Viddal Riley, to be honest, more of a chance than Lawal, which was just a puncher’s chance.

“I’ve proven that those domestic fights are great to have and they raise your profile and they’re just fun to compete in. And the fans love it.

“It’s a great division to be involved in,” Billam-Smith added.

“Hopefully the cruiserweights currently competing domestically will all fight each other and we can build up some big domestic world title fights.”