Lawrence Okolie LOSES his WBO cruiserweight belt when he was dropped THREE times by Chris Billam-Smith and deducted two points during a Bournemouth assault at Vitality Stadium
- Lawrence Okolie has lost his WBO cruiserweight title to Chris Billam-Smith
- The underdog emerged victorious as he proved too much for Okolie to handle
- Okolie was knocked down three times in a convincing victory for Billam-Smith
Lawrence Okolie knew he was the favorite heading into Saturday’s fight and tried to assert his dominance from the moment he was called to the ring. But it wasn’t enough to stop Chris Billam-Smith.
The Bournemouth boy defeated Okolie via majority decision to win the WBO world cruiserweight title in front of 15,000 fans at Vitality Stadium on Saturday night – with judges scoring the bout 112-112, 116-107, 115-108.
However, it was not the fight Billam-Smith was hoping for and the fact that one judge scored the bout 112-112 is beyond me. Billam-Smith was the clear winner who dominated the fight, taking down Okolie three times and seeing de Sauce deducted two points for excessive holding.
Immediately after being crowned the new WBO champion, Billam-Smith said it was ‘not the most exciting fight’ but admitted he was happy nonetheless – especially considering his health over the past week.
Billam-Smith revealed that he was “sick in bed all week” and then dedicated his battle to his mother who has breast cancer. He said, “I have no idea what just happened. My whole life has gone so fast and right now it’s just perfect. There’s nothing left.
“Against a great champion and a good friend in Lawrence, who never felt like he was going to be beaten, he gave me 12 really hard rounds. I believe I did enough to win it, I believe the scorecards show that.
“I was sick in bed all week, I didn’t eat from Tuesday to Thursday, I managed to put on a brave face, I want to dedicate this to my mom who has breast cancer at the moment. Mom, this is for you, I love you so much.’
Chris Billam-Smith delivers a convincing performance to defeat Lawrence Okolie to claim the WBO cruiserweight title
Okolie (right) was knocked down three times by Billam-Smith during the encounter on the Vitality
Okolie (right) struggled with the power and timing of Billam-Smith’s shots
Okolie (left) was deducted two points for excessive holding at various points in the fight
Full battle report follows.