Ringside Report: Chris Billam-Smith Retains WBO Cruiserweight Title

Ringside Report: Chris Billam-Smith Retains WBO Cruiserweight Title

By Oliver McManus

Hometown hero Chris Billam Smith endured absolute hell in the middle rounds before pulling it out of the bag to successfully defend his cruiserweight crown.

The WBO cruiserweight champion entered the ring at the Bournemouth International Centre to a typically rapturous reception but struggled, in large parts, to initially get the measure of Mateusz Masternak.

And whilst CBS set the pace of the first round – and looked encouraging with a flurry of shots in the final 20 seconds – it was his Polish opponent who was able to establish the earlier jab.

Masternak, challenging for his first world title, reddened almost immediately, which perhaps did a disservice to his body of work. In the second round, he caught the champ of balance, which prompted strong encouragement from the Polish fans in attendance: of which there was more than a handful.

In truth, that was the best measure of the challenger’s success – the fact that the largely partisan, and always vocal, home crowd was silenced for what can only be described as a torrid middle few rounds.

Billam-Smith looked frazzled in the third round, having shipped a few clean shots. Masternak’s movement was standing him in good stead and assailing the champion of any meaningful momentum.

And it really was heart-in-mouth stuff for the home crowd with CBS struggling through rounds four and five to get any foothold in the contest.

It looked as though his world title was slipping out of his grasp, but then in the sixth, there was a glimmer of life. Signs that all hope was not lost.

But even though it felt as though Billam-Smith was working his way back into the contest, no one was really prepared for how the fight finished.

CBS had a good seventh round and landed several shots of note – including a peach to the body that visibly slowed his opponent’s work rate, but it didn’t SEEM to be a killer blow. Except when the bell rang to start the eighth round, the Polish man didn’t emerge from his corner and appeared to be pointing to his ribs – there was clearly serious discontent.

And then the contest was waved off. Chris Billam-Smith hoisted himself into the air with jubilation etched on his face. The crowd took half a second to realise what had taken place, and then they, too, erupted with joy.

It was a hard, hard fight for the champion, but he’s always managed to pull his way through stormy weather, and this proved to be no different.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer