Chris Billam-Smith: The Unsung Hero

Chris Billam-Smith: The Unsung Hero

Chris Billam-Smith has previously held the British, Commonwealth, and European cruiserweight titles. He is now the WBO cruiserweight champion of the world. In many ways, the unsung hero was a forgotten piece in his old promotional home.

But Billam-Smith is one of boxing’s great feel-good stories. The move to Boxxer has served him well. The headline status soon followed. As did the world title. Make no mistake, his story wasn’t supposed to go this way. Chris Billam-Smith is a walking punching blue-collar boxing success story.

Billam-Smith has only lost once in twenty professional fights. A wafer-thin split-decision defeat to Richard Riakporhe in 2019 is the only blemish on his impressive and often overlooked resume. This Saturday night at Selhurst Park, Billam-Smith gets his chance of revenge. Another stadium fight for a fighter who wasn’t even considered a headliner of any description not so long ago. The reigning WBO bauble holder is already dreaming of even bigger nights ahead. Thoughts of America are firmly set in his mind.

Motivated by revenge, Billam-Smith will leave his Bournemouth base for the first time since he stopped Tommy McCarthy in Manchester in 2022. The four fights since have been in that seaside town roared on passionately by his incredibly vocal faithful. The win over Lawrence Okolie last year was an emotional night at the Vitality Stadium. Unexpected, in many ways. The former stablemates traded blows in a somewhat messy affair. Okolie suffered multiple knockdowns before losing his grip on his precious WBO cruiserweight bauble. Billam-Smith did what he needed to do, and won going away.

Billam-Smith defended his title last December against Mateusz Masterna. The early rounds were in truth, more than a touch worrying as Billam-Smith shipped a few too many punches before wearing down the Polish challenger in eight rounds. The champion retained his title, but he can’t afford that type of start against the big punching challenger that he will face in Riakporhe on Saturday night. Riakporhe, you sense will take full advantage if Billam-Smith begins the fight the same way he did against Masterna.

But Billam-Smith has been here before. The proverbial underdog. The fighter who is seemingly always swimming against the tide. On Saturday night, he will again start the fight with the betting odds firmly against him. In simple terms, Billam-Smith is expected to lose.

At 33, Billam-Smith is at his peak, although Riakporhe claims the Bournemouth native was a better fighter when they first met five years ago. A claim that the reigning WBO bauble holder strongly disputes and with much validity. Both were novice fighters back then. What happened in the first fight, might not have much weight in who will win the rematch.

Billam-Smith has had to go deep in recent fights. Riakporhe hasn’t. A little detail that could prove pivotal if the fight if the fight is still up in the air in the later rounds. Can the challenger find what we know the champion does find in times of peril? But Riakporhe has the type of power that could quite easily make the later rounds, and indeed, the judges redundant. Billam-Smith will know the early rounds will be riddled with danger.

The success Billam-Smith has had with Shane McGuigan reminds me of what Brendan Ingle did with Johnny Nelson all those years ago. Like Ingle, McGuigan has had far more talented fighters walk through his gym doors than Billam-Smith. But that just touches a little deeper with what Billam-Smith has achieved in recent times. Hard work and perseverance have reaped their rewards. But Chris Billam-Smith is much more than that. But there is little doubt he has had to work harder than some of his more illustrious stablemates. In many ways, Billam-Smith has more than earned the limelight. Nothing has ever come easy for him.

The move to Ben Shalom and Boxxer was an important step in achieving the light. Previously lost in the mix, Billam-Smith has thrived in the headline status that Shalom has given him. He has been one of the great Boxxer success stories.

But yet again, Billam-Smith will be swimming upstream on Saturday night. Another fight that the odds say that he won’t win. Richard Riakporhe will bring far more imminent danger than Lawrence Okolie did, and a lot more jeopardy than Mateusz Masterna offered in December. Riakporhe will also bring freshness to the party. Billam-Smith is the more battle-hardened of the two. But will that be to his detriment at Selhurst Park?

Billam-Smith will want that sweet revenge against the only fighter he has lost to as a professional. If he can navigate those early rounds that will be fraught with danger, he might just have a little too much will and desire for Riakporhe, who can be guilty of fighting too much within himself. We have to remember that we still don’t really know if Riakporhe can go deep into a fight and come out the other side. Only that first meeting in 2019 can offer any real evidence of what Riakporhe can produce in a time of genuine crisis.

But Riakporhe is the betting favourite for a reason. Timing does seem to be on his side. Five years on from their first meeting, Riakporhe is undoubtedly better than he was in 2019, although Billam-Smith claims he is also a vastly improved fighter. In truth, they both are substantially better operators in 2024.

If Billam-Smith is still the WBO world cruiserweight champion, come Sunday morning, it could well be the pinnacle of his quite remarkable career. His greatest victory to date. The unsung hero might just have one more emotional chapter added to his inspiring story. But he can’t afford what he served up against Masterna. A similarly slow start will likely result in a new champion being crowned. Make no mistake, Riakporhe has the power to end the fight at any second.

But Chris Billam-Smith has been here before. Another night where the odds are seemingly stacked against him. Billam-Smith has a habit of rising against those odds. That might just be the difference on Saturday night.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer