Chris Billam-Smith
Chris Billam-Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 August 1990 |
| Nationality | English |
| Other names | The Gentleman |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Cruiserweight |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Reach | 75 in (191 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record[1] | |
| Total fights | 11 |
| Wins | 10 |
| Wins by KO | 9 |
| Losses | 1 |
Chris Billam-Smith (born 2 August 1990) is an English professional boxer who has held the Commonwealth cruiserweight title since 2019.
Amateur career
After training on and off as a youngster, Smith began to take boxing seriously at the age of 16. During a career in which he compiled a record of 32–11[2] while representing Poole ABC, he fought in several ABA Championships,[3] reaching the finals in 2013 and 2016; losing out to Jack Massey at 86kg[4] and Cheavon Clarke at 91kg respectively.[5]
Professional career
Smith made his professional debut on 16 September 2017 under the tutelage of Shane McGuigan,[6] scoring a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over Russ Henshaw at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth, Dorset.[7]
After compiling a record of 9–0 (8 KO), he faced fellow undefeated British prospect Richard Riakporhe (9–0 8 (KO)) for the WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title (9–0 8 KO) on 20 July 2019 at the O2 Arena in London. The fight was televised live on Sky Sports Box Office as part of the undercard of Dillian Whyte vs. Oscar Rivas.[8] Smith suffered his first professional defeat via split decision (SD) over ten rounds. Two judges scored the bout in favour of Riakporhe with 97–92 and 95–94, while the third scored it 96–93 to Smith.[9]
On 23 November 2019, he fought Craig Glover at the M&S Bank Arena (formerly Echo Arena), Liverpool, with the vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title on the line. The fight was televised live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and streamed live on DAZN in the United States as part of the undercard for Callum Smith's world title defence against John Ryder.[10] Billam-Smith won the fight to capture the Commonwealth title by fifth-round TKO. The first-round saw both fighters engage at close-quarters, with Glover suffering a cut above his left eye in the first minute of the bout from an accidental clash of heads. In the second-round, Smith stayed at range behind the jab, landing hooks and straight right hands to bloody Glover's nose. Round three was much of the same, with Smith landing counter hooks as Glover tried to work on the inside. Glover had more success in the fourth, with both fighters landing solid jabs and hooks to the head. In the final 10 seconds of the round, Smith hurt Glover with a straight right hand and followed up with a four punch combination culminating with a left hook which dropped Glover to the canvas seconds before the bell sounding. Less than a minute into the fifth, Smith began to land a variety of heavy punches to the head of Glover, scoring a second knockdown with a powerful left hook to the jaw. Glover was able to get to his feet before the referee's count of ten, only to be met by more heavy shots from Smith, who landed two straight right hands to the side of Glover's head, causing referee Mark Lyson to wave off the contest as Glover was knocked down for a third time.[11]
Professional boxing record
| 11 fights | 10 wins | 1 loss |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 9 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | — | — |  Nathan Thorley
|
— | – (12) | 7 Aug 2020 | Matchroom Fight Camp, Brentwood, England
|
Defending Commonwealth cruiserweight title |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Craig Glover
|
TKO | 5 (12), 1:45 | 23 Nov 2019 | M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, England
|
Won vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title |
| 10 | Loss | 9–1 | Richard Riakporhe
|
SD | 10 | 20 Jul 2019 | O2 Arena, London, England
|
For WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 |  Yassine Habachi
|
RTD | 3 (6), 3:00 | 10 May 2019 | Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England
|
|
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Kent Kauppinen
|
TKO | 6 (6), 0:45 | 15 Dec 2018 | O2 Academy, Bournemouth, England
|
|
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Robin Dupre
|
RTD | 5 (10), 3:00 | 13 Oct 2018 | York Hall, London, England
|
|
| 6 | Win | 6–0 |  Michal Pleanik
|
PTS | 8 | 16 Jun 2018 | O2 Academy, Bournemouth, England
|
|
| 5 | Win | 5–0 |  Gheorghe Danut
|
RTD | 5 (6), 3:00 | 9 Mar 2018 | O2 Academy, Bournemouth, England
|
|
| 4 | Win | 4–0 |  Laszlo Ivanyi
|
KO | 1 (4), 2:17 | 2 Dec 2017 | Leicester Arena, Leicester, England
|
|
| 3 | Win | 3–0 |  Jan Hrazdira
|
KO | 2 (4) | 11 Nov 2017 | Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland
|
|
| 2 | Win | 2–0 |  Alexandar Todorovic
|
TKO | 1 (4), 2:43 | 14 Oct 2017 | Wembley Arena, London, England
|
|
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Russ Henshaw
|
TKO | 1 (4), 2:01 | 16 Sep 2017 | O2 Academy, Bournemouth, England
|
References
- ^ "Boxing record for Chris Billam-Smith". BoxRec.
- ^ Daley, Paul J. (4 June 2018). "PROSPECT WATCH | "THE GENTLEMAN" CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH". TOPCLASSBOXING. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "BoxRec: Chris Billam Smith - Amateur career". boxrec.com. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "National Elite Championships 2013". England Boxing. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "National Elite Championships 2016". England Boxing. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Jay, Phil (12 September 2017). "Barry, Shane McGuigan link up with Chris Billam-Smith". World Boxing News. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "BoxRec: Bout". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "Whyte vs Rivas: Richard Riakporhe and Chris Billam-Smith risk their unbeaten records on O2 bill". Sky Sports. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Gilbert, Peter (21 July 2019). "Whyte vs Rivas: Richard Riakpore defeats Chris Billam Smith on points". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Christ, Scott (23 November 2019). "Callum Smith vs John Ryder: Live streaming results and coverage". www.badlefthook.com. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Donovan, Jake (23 November 2019). "Chris Billam-Smith Drops, Stops Craig Glover in Five". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)