Chris Billam-Smith not impressed with Jai Opetaia's recent wins
Chris Billam-Smith unfazed by Jai Opetaia’s recent success: “It’s a fight we believe I can win”
Chris Billam-Smith has Richard Riakorphe to get past first and is adamant he does not concern himself with Jai Opetaia’s recent cruiserweight domination.
WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith (19-1, 13KOs) had a fantastic 2023 in the ring.
He started the year off with a bang, outpointing Lawrence Okolie over 12 rounds to crown himself as the WBO world cruiserweight champion. The win was a memorable one, the 33-year-old catapulted himself above the British scene attracting eyes from all across the boxing world. The victory was a huge upset and a testament to Surrey-born fighters' overlooked ability.
Later on in the year, ‘The Gentleman’ returned to the ring for his first-ever world title defence. Any sceptics were surely silenced after another fantastic performance, this time against Polish cruiserweight Mateusz Masternak. The challenger was broken down by his British opponent and eventually forced to retire at the end of the seventh round.
It’s the first time in a long time that the cruiserweight division appears to be its own entity, not just a stepping stone for future heavyweight prospects. There are a growing number of young, exciting prospects who have one goal, taking over the division.
Among them is one of 2023 most talked about boxer, Jai Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs). The 28-year-old is ready to step back in the ring for an intriguing rematch against Mairis Breidris as part of the ‘Ring of Fire’ card on February 17.
Despite the hype surrounding Billam-Smith’s cruiserweight rivals, he is adamant that he does not take notice, instead choosing to focus solely on himself and the challenges that lay ahead of him. Recently he has signed a deal to rematch the only red mark on his otherwise glowing record, undefeated cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe.
“I don’t listen too much to hype and people. At the end of the day, if I was to listen to that I wouldn’t never have beaten Lawrence [Okolie]. I was gonna get wiped out by Lawrence. Lawrence was gonna eat me up. Lawrence was gonna do this and that,” he voiced in an interview with SecondsOut.
“We just know what I’m capable of in the gym and that’s all that matters. The people who see me every day, they’re the ones who know how good I am and how good I can be and that I can box.”
Nonetheless, Billam-Smith will still be keeping an eye on his Australian counterpart. Despite Opetaia not currently holding a world title, many would consider him to be the division's best. If both men continue winning, it’s likely only a matter of time before they put it all on the line over 12 rounds.
“Look, it’s not an easy fight. No fights at this level are easy but it’s a fight we believe I can win against Opetaia and the hype is because he’s boxed Jordan and beat him in four rounds and then Ellis Zorro in one round,” he said.
“With respect to both those guys - and this is what I said to Jordan in the changing room afterwards - ‘You’ve jumped up a lot of levels here to go and box at world level.’ He’d never really boxed at British level before, although he had the ability to win a British title.
“My career’s been perfectly managed in that sense. I’ve had those little acid tests along the way. Next level, next level, next level. When you jump that many levels it’s not possible to do.
“Opetaia’s boxed those two guys who have never really boxed at British level and he’s got a lot of hype off it, but we’ll know more when he fights Briedis next.
“We’ll know then where he’s at on the world scene because if Briedis goes into that fight fully fit - although he’s been out for a while, inactive - and if he boxes at a decent percentage of his capabilities, then it’s a close fight I think. We’ll see.”
The Aussie will have an opportunity to win back his IBF world title against Mairis Breidris in February after the sanctioning body stripped the belt from him for agreeing to a huge payday against Ellis Zorro in December.
