Chris Billam-Smith really did make a fairytale come true when he beat Lawrence Okolie at the Vitality Stadium in his Bournemouth hometown; New WBO cruiserweight world champion Billam-Smith explains how he overcame all the odds and warns that in a rematch he would knock Okolie out
Working his way through small hall shows and the occasional undercard slot he suffered a 2019 loss to Richard Riakporhe. That could have consigned him to domestic level.Speaking on the Toe2Toe podcast, Callum Smith decribed Chris Billam-Smith's victory over Lawrence Okolie in front of his home fans as a 'fairy-tale'.
"That's just always the goal for everyone who walks through the door in the gym and trains under Shane. Some people might not reach it, but we all reach for the very, very top, just staying consistent with it all and doing all the little one percents, looking for edges here and there. His world title challenge against Okolie, even though it was the dream opportunity he'd longed for, even though it came at the Vitality Stadium, the home of his beloved Bournemouth football club, was nevertheless a risk.
"I've been wanting to fight Lawrence since 2016, because he was No 1 in the country as an amateur, was No 1 seed in the ABAs and then he qualified for the Olympics, so they took him out and I got to the finals, so I was annoyed about that," he said. "There was plenty of motivation there for me and I just thought, it's 36 minutes of work, if that's all I can do even without a warmup, if I couldn't warm up because I had no energy, then I would have just got on with it for 36 minutes and just persevere through.""Mentality I think is the biggest thing in boxing," he said.
"I felt very comfortable in there. Watching it back on the tape probably took a few too many and like I said, my eye tells its own story."He obviously carries a lot of power in that right hand, maybe I was able to ride them slightly and stuff like that, having that experience in the ring with them, but I felt comfortable, never felt in danger in the fight at all, so I'm pleased in that sense.
He wonders now whether he inherited a certain element of fortitude from his mother."No idea where that comes from, maybe there's mental toughness from my mum because she's a very, very tough woman," he said."Mentally, she's very positive and has been through a lot so maybe I get the fight from her.
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