sport news Chris Billam-Smith claims criticism of Lawrence Okolie is fair ahead of ... trends now
As he closes in on a date of destiny at the home of his beloved AFC Bournemouth, Chris Billam-Smith is determined not to let the opportunity of a lifetime pass him by.
'It's the dream,' he tells Mail Sport ahead of his bid to become world cruiserweight champion this weekend. 'It's always been the dream to win a world title at the Vitality.
'Just to box there would have been nice, but the fact we get the opportunity now to win a world title there, I'll be grabbing it with both hands.
'It definitely feels like everything's fallen into place perfectly, including the opponent.'
There is a sense of destiny for Billam-Smith (17-1-0) as he gears up for his first world-title shot, and not simply because it is taking place at Bournemouth's stadium. More still, standing in the way of his lifelong dream on the south coast is undefeated WBO champion Lawrence Okolie, one of the division's leading fighters and his former stablemate.
Chris Billam-Smith is gearing up for a date with destiny at the Vitality Stadium this weekend
The Gentleman takes on former stablemate Lawrence Okolie for the WBO cruiserweight title
Okolie, considered the division's No 1 fighter, was his team-mate as recently as early this year
The pair endured countless sparring sessions while plying their trade in the very same gym
As recently as last August, Okolie and Billam-Smith trained in the same gym under the tutelage of esteemed British coach Shane McGuigan. It was McGuigan who guided Okolie to his first world crown in 2021 as well as two of the three defences which have followed.
That was until the Hackney fighter gave up his UK residency and moved to Dubai at the back end of last year, forcing him to part company with his trainer of four years on amicable terms.
'That was always going to be quite a big obstacle for us to overcome,' McGuigan conceded in an interview with "Boxing Social.
And just a few months on, he is now plotting Okolie's downfall in the opposite corner.
Yet throughout their lengthy time together in the gym, where they enjoyed countless sparring sessions, Billam-Smith never anticipated a future fight ever coming to fruition.
'When he's in the gym you don't expect people to leave and how good of a coach Shane is you don't expect people to leave him. So eventhough people have I didn't think Lawrence would leave,' he admits.
'He's obviously left now, then we had conversations and it all made sense. I thought he maybe would have moved up to heavyweight by the time this opportunity came around, so I didn't really think about it.
'But yeah, he's still around at this weight and I needed a world-title challenge, he's got a belt... it just makes perfect sense.'
Having spent his entire professional career with McGuigan, Billam-Smith watched on as Okolie rocked up in the gym as British champion in 2019 and left four years later as one of the world's top operators at 200lbs. In the meantime, he continued to plug away at domestic level before capturing the European title in 2021 and defending it on three occasions. Now it's time to rule the world.
Okolie made the decision to part company with trainer Shane McGuigan (pictured with both) at the back end of last year
Now the former stablemates are set to collide this weekend with a world title up for grabs
Putting fulfilling a dream at the Vitality aside, will getting the better of Okolie, and sweeping up the bragging rights that come with it, make victory even sweeter? There is no bad blood between the pair, yet Billam-Smith admits as such.
'Yeah, I think so,' he says. 'It's human
