Chris Billam-Smith: Hometown Hero

Chris Billam-Smith: Hometown Hero

By Oliver McManus

Chris Billam-Smith is living proof that dreams do, occasionally, come true. But to put his success down to simply chasing his dreams would be doing the WBO cruiserweight champion a disservice.

He is not a man who has achieved world honours through fluke – though a slice of good fortune always helps – but as a result of years of dedication.

It’s easy to say the 33-year-old was destined to win a world title at the home of his beloved Cherries – and in many respects, it does feel like destiny – but it is so much more than that.

CBS has always had grand plans. He has always said he would win a world title and bring the bright lights back to Bournemouth. But saying something and delivering on it are two very different things.

Six months ago, on a brutally chilly night at the Vitality, Billam-Smith proved to be the coolest of all in attendance. The fight itself can’t be described as the finest spectacle to ever grace a boxing ring – but that’s what you get with an opponent who holds and grapples as effectively as Lawrence Okolie.

The night, however, will live long in the memory of the 15,000 fans who turned out to support Billam-Smith. 36 minutes in which the cruiserweight was able to preserve his dreams for a lifetime and beyond. His name, permanently and irreversibly, was pencilled into the history books.

And on Sunday, the champ gets the opportunity, once again in front of a hometown crowd, to defend his WBO jewels against Mateusz Masternak.

Much had been made of a potential clash with Jai Opetaia, Arsen Goulamirian, or even a rematch with Richard Riakporhe, but, alas, the seasoned Pole will get a shot at achieving his own dreams.

Masternak, 47-5, knows he will likely never get an opportunity to fight for a world title again. The 36-year-old has been around the business for long enough and is a former European champion who’s been in with the likes of Tony Bellew, Jean-Marc Mormeck, and Yuniel Dorticos.

Of course, Chris Billam-Smith SHOULD win, and the odds reflect that, but he’s living proof of why dreams should never be abandoned – so why on earth would Masternak give up on his at the last hurdle.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer