Chris Billam-Smith has stated that he would have been happy to step in to fight Badou Jack following the injury of scheduled opponent Ryan Rozicki (replaced by Noel Mikaelian), citing his hunger to be a world champion again.
The 34-year-old earned a victory over Brandon Glanton on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn. A build-up of bad blood between the two paved the way for a fierce battle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Billam-Smith winning via a clear unanimous decision.
It was a massive moment for Billam-Smith, who aimed to get back to winning ways following his heartbreak in Riyadh. The Bournemouth boxer lost his WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez back in November 2024, having ultimately been well-beaten in their unification fight.
Billam-Smith was a guest on Sky Sports’ Toe2Toe Podcast and, discussing his future, he said: “I just want to fight for a world title again.
“I think the winner of Badou Jack and Mikaelian is most likely. You hear rumours in the industry that if Ramirez and [Jai] Opetaia come through their fights, they’ll fight each other.
“Those are the names that I’m interested in.
“For me it’s just about staying fit and being present. After this weekend, we might have more of an idea of what the lay of the land is.
“I think it’s just important for me to switch off a little bit from boxing. I’ve got a great team around me, who worry about future fights, so I can leave them and let them do their job.”
Jack and Mikaelian are set to face each other on the undercard of the Canelo vs Scull fight on May 3.
Jack was initially scheduled to fight Rozicki, who was the mandatory challenger for the WBC cruiserweight world title. However, the Canadian had to pull out due to a torn bicep.
Billam-Smith stated that he was ready to step in to fight Jack in Riyadh.
“I was in camp, and the first thing I did when I saw that Rozicki was out, was to text Ben Shalom saying, ‘get me that fight!’
“The Glanton fight was a fight to get me back in the title mix, so that was almost a bypass of the stage. But what happened happened.
“As long as I’m fit and in training, I’m never going to go in there underprepared.
“Like I said with the Badou Jack situation, I was boxing a week before him, so it would’ve given me a week extra to prepare physically.”
WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack says he’d prefer to fight the other champions in the division rather than British ex-world title holder Chris Billam-Smith
It’s clear that the intentions of Billam-Smith haven’t gone unnoticed by Jack. The WBC cruiserweight champion had previously spoken to Sky Sports, reflecting on past call-outs from ‘the gentleman’ and Callum Smith.
“The British guys, Callum Smith and Billam-Smith, they get brave because they know I’m a little bit older and coming from a long lay-off. That’s when they get brave,” Jack told Sky Sports.
“But I didn’t hear no one calling me out before. It’s okay. It’s good. That’s how you get the big fights. Also I’m a big name. They want to get paid, they want to get the big fights, I understand that too.
“[With] the big fights that I’ve been in, compared to the other champions, I have a way bigger name so obviously that’s a bigger fight for them.”
When it comes to fighting Billam-Smith or Callum Smith, Jack continued: “If it’s a big money fight why not?
“But I’m focusing on trying to become undisputed. None of these guys have a belt, but you never know.”
Watch boxing live on Sky Sports, with Naoya Inoue taking on Ramon Cardenas for the Undisputed World Super-Bantamweight Title on Monday May 5.
This news was originally published on this post .
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