Chris Billam-Smith: “I can’t afford to slip up, because the fights that are being talked about for next year are going to be a different level of opponent.”

Chris Billam-Smith: “I can’t afford to slip up, because the fights that are being talked about for next year are going to be a different level of opponent.”

By Oliver McManus

The pressure is on for Chris Billam-Smith in his upcoming fight against Armend Xhoxhaj, according to the Bournemouth cruiserweight. With the potential for a world title fight in 2023, the 32-year-old can’t afford to let his focus slip.

Whilst many might not have heard of his Kosovan opponent, a fact Billam-Smith readily accepts, he insists it’s a fight not to be taken lightly.

“People will look at the fact he’s got two stoppage defeats and perhaps expect me to get the job done easily”, Billam-Smith said, “but the first one was quite early on in his career and he went on a roll of wins before getting stopped by (Mateusz) Masternak who has been a top quality fighter for a long time.”

“There’s a lot of pressure because I’ll probably get no credit for beating him. It’s a lot of risk and no reward for me. I need to look good, I can’t afford to slip up, because the fights that are being talked about for next year are going to be a different level of opponent, so there’s no room for error or complacency.”

The opponent widely speculated for 2023 is IBF world champion Jai Opetaia – “the man that beat the man” in Mairis Briedis. It’s a contest The Gentleman is keen on and believes his new found stability of being a husband and father could help him win.

Billam-Smith said: said: “(My career) has been a lot of processes and in some respects, there’s been plenty of changes. I’ve obviously improved as a fighter, I’ve got married and I’m a father, of course – but there’s always been that strong guidance right from the start. I definitely feel in a good place and, looking back, maybe when I was training in Kent I wasn’t performing as well as I could have done.

“You’re always learning, though, everything since my debut has made me the fighter I am and the stability outside the ring can only be a good thing.”

Billam-Smith’s last outing, defending his Commonwealth and European cruiserweight titles against Isaac Chamberlain, marked his first fight in Bournemouth since December 2018. The homecoming, the first time Bournemouth’s International Centre had staged a professional boxing event since 1988, saw thousands of fans cheer Chris through a pulsating 12-round contest.

It was an experience that took Chris back to some of his first memories of the sport – supporting Dean Perkins, a friend from college – among a swathe of about 20 friends. Amid the cries of “Deano, Deano”, Chris knew then that it was a feeling he wished to experience for himself.

Chris said: “I just thought to myself ‘that must be such a cool feeling’ and (against Isaac Chamberlain) when you’ve got thousands of people that you know are there to see you and are screaming your name it’s just an amazing feeling. I’m definitely biased but it was the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced. It took me right back to watching Dean fight.”

The focus for Chris, and his team spearheaded by the McGuigan’s, remains firmly on December 17 but there’s no shortage of what 2023 could hold: a year Billam-Smith describes as ‘tasty’.

A world title fight is firmly in the pipeline for Bournemouth’s finest and the lure of a big fight at the Vitality Stadium – the home ground of AFC Bournemouth – is one that is irresistible.

Chris said: “That’s the dream, it’s what it’s been about for a long time and each fight, hopefully, is getting one step closer to making that dream a reality.”

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer