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kolie vs Billam-Smith LIVE!
Lawrence Okolie defends his world title tonight in an all-British encounter against Chris Billam-Smith. The WBO cruiserweight champion is the man with the belt but he will be very unpopular tonight at the Vitality Stadium, as hometown hero Billam-Smith gets the fight he has always dreamed of in Bournemouth.
Despite his unbeaten professional boxing record of 19-0, Okolie has regularly been questioned over the style of his victories, which have rarely come in thrilling fashion. The 30-year-old has been world champion since 2019, most recently defending the title just nine weeks ago against David Light in somewhat dull fashion.
A more ambitious display will surely be the plan tonight, one more in keeping with trainer SugarHill Steward’s style, but Billam-Smith will not make it easy. Almost all of the 15,000 fans in attendance will be behind the Bournemouth fighter, who has put eight consecutive wins together since losing to Richard Riakporhe nearly four years ago. Follow Lawrence Okolie vs Chris Billam-Smith LIVE below!
Live updates
Some early thoughts from Shane McGuigan
“The weather has been amazing, the respect between both boxers has been amazing,” McGuigian tells Sky Sports.
“Former gym-mates and now enemies, but enemies for only one night.
“Lawrence was always that one step ahead, but Chris was following in his tracks. I’ve never trained a fighter to box a former fighter, this is a rare occasion. Maybe it was inevitable.”
Billam-Smith’s run to the world stage
It’s been a brilliant few years for Billam-Smith, since his defeat to Richard Riakporhe in 2019.
Since then, he’s got things back on track with eight straight wins, including two over Tommy McCarthy and a points victory over Isaac Chamberlain last summer.
He now gets his world title shot, in his hometown, at the Vitality Stadium. The stage is there for him!
Familiar foes!
Fair to say Okolie and Billam-Smith know plenty about each other, having been gym-mates under Shane McGuigan.
They’ve sparred more than 300 rounds together, before Okolie left the gym after splitting with trainer McGuigan.
“He was always Shane’s favourite,” Okolie has told BBC Sport.
“Chris must have been looking at me every day in the gym. Wanting what I had, looking behind my back, thinking one day I’m going to fight this man.
“The more it festers the more I think maybe we never really were friends. Maybe he’s been positioning himself.”
Billam-Smith responded: “Maybe I’m Shane’s favourite because I’m the one who turns up every week. I was there at every circuit and Lawrence wasn’t.”
Nosic unable to continue
The fight between Lewis Edmondson and Petar Nosic has been called off in the fifth round after a nasty clash of heads.
Edmondson gets the technical decision 50-45, extends his unbeaten record.
Okolie: Ready to make big statement
Much of the talk in the build-up to this fight has been about hometown hero Billam-Smith, but Okolie insists he is ready to ruin the party tonight.
“I’m coming to make an extremely big statement on the weekend,” Okolie insisted.
“As much as I love and respect that other side, a lot of stuff has been brought up around destiny and world titles here in Bournemouth. I’m my own man on my own journey.
“There’s stuff that I want and need and I’m ready to fight for it. We’re going to find out what’s what and who’s who.”
So far tonight…
There has already been some action in Bournemouth, ahead of the main undercard getting underway.
Razor Ali was knocked down in the second round but came back from that to win on points, while Tommy Welch had also got the job done after his fight went the distance.
Bournemouth behind their man!
Billam-Smith is a regular at the Vitality Stadium, watching Bournemouth throughout the season, and he now gets his chance on the big stage.
He’d love to have a belt to walk out onto the pitch when the new season gets underway in August!
Main event prediction
Okolie is the obvious favourite to retain his WBO belt for the fourth time on Saturday, though he will surely not be able to coast to the finish line in somewhat dull fashion as he has now in back-to-back wins over Cieslak and Light.
Naturally it will take a while for Okolie to show the benefits of his new partnership with Steward, but he needs to start generating more excitement quickly if he is to realise his grand plans for unifying the cruiserweight division and potentially joining the heavyweight ranks.
If the champion does show any signs of slugishness this weekend, then Billam-Smith is surely well-placed to take advantage. As a friend and former sparring partner of Okolie’s, hence the complete lack of any of the usual animosity or needle in the build-up to this fight, he possesses real knowledge of his weaknesses and how best to exploit them.
The fact that Billam-Smith – whose only professional loss to date came on points against Richard Riakporhe in 2019 – is still trained by McGuigan adds another intriguing sub-plot to the contest, with Shane having insisted that he knows exactly how to beat his former charge.
Ultimately Billam-Smith’s explosive nature means win or lose he won’t allow this to be a boring bout in front of an adoring home crowd at a packed-out stadium, with his aggressive approach potentially set to coax a fiery performance from Okolie at long last.
Billam-Smith has never previously been stopped, but that could well change here in a valiant effort as he goes for broke to try and spring an upset.
Okolie to win by late knockout.
Card in full
Lawrence Okolie vs Chris Billam-Smith
Mikael Lawal vs Isaac Chamberlain
Sam Eggington vs Joe Pigford
Lee Cutler vs Stanley Stannard
Karriss Artingstall vs Jade Taylor
Tommy Welch vs Amine Boucetta
Michael McKinson vs Lebin Morales
Lewis Edmondson vs Vladimir Belujsky
Mace Ruegg vs Dean Dodge
Your timings for tonight…
The card takes place tonight at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, with capacity expanded from 12,000 to 15,000 seats.
The undercard is due to begin at 7pm BST, with main event ring walks expected at approximately 10pm. As ever, exact timings are subject to change.
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