Chris Billam-Smith: WBO cruiserweight champion ‘ready to go’ as he awaits news on Lawrence Okolie rematch
WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith says he is “ready to go” for a return to the ring in November – whether that’s against Lawrence Okolie or another opponent.
Okolie, who trained alongside Billam-Smith earlier in his career, requested a rematch clause ahead of their world title fight in May, which Billam-Smith won by majority decision.
A second fight has yet to be arranged and there are calls for a rematch, Billam-Smith said Air sports: “Who, and when, are two good questions.”
“Obviously Lawrence has a rematch clause, so we’ll wait and see.
“His team asked for the rematch clause, we gave it to him, so that was always in the back of our minds, that we had to beat him twice and then move on and try to unify.”
The rivals previously trained together at Shane McGuigan’s gym, but that partnership was put aside as they fought for the world title in what Billam-Smith called a “fairy tale”.
Billam-Smith told it Air sports he hasn’t spoken to Okolie since the hours after their fight in May, with the potential rematch still on his mind.
“We were gym mates,” he said. “We never hung out outside the gym.
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Barry Jones wonders if Lawrence Okolie was sufficiently upset after the first loss of his professional career against Chris Billam-Smith. You can now listen to the latest episode of the Toe2Toe Podcast.
“We supported and helped each other to get to this stage – I said that to him that night.
“We both helped each other get there and now we’re against each other – that’s the way the company works.
“He texted me the day after the fight but we haven’t spoken since and thought we’d box him again.”
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Lawrence Okolie has praised Chris Billam-Smith’s performance after losing his WBO world cruiserweight title and insists he will make the necessary adjustments should the two reunite.
Billam-Smith says he will fight in November regardless and then aim to unify the cruiserweight belts.
He said: “I think I’ve hit so high, and now it’s way behind me and I’m looking ahead – I don’t think you can sit on it for too long.
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Chris Billam-Smith sent his hometown crowd wild when he delivered Lawrence Okolie’s first knockdown of his professional career.
“I’m ready to go in November, and that was always the plan.
I think the other champions are busy at the moment and I want to fight this year, so I’ll probably have one in between and then see if I can tie it together.
“As high as that night was, when I walked into the stadium (the Vitality Stadium in his home town of Bournemouth) – a dream of mine to do as a footballer when I was a kid – there is another goal now, and that is to the other belts.”