Chris Billam-Smith: I can't believe I'm world champion, but I was never ever letting those fans down
Chris Billam-Smith battled through illness and adversity to beat Lawrence Okolie at the Vitality stadium in Bournemouth and win the WBO cruiserweight world title; Almost overcome with emotion, Billam-Smith dedicated the victory to his mother - "That’s where I get my fighting spirit".
Sunday 28 May 2023 15:54, UK
Chris Billam-Smith’s dream actually did come true. He beat Lawrence Okolie in front of 15,000 fans at the open air stadium in Bournemouth to win the WBO cruiserweight world title.
But the dream could have soured into a nightmare when he fell sick during the week of the fight.
Not only did he get himself to the ring for the contest, but he came through a truly gruelling 12-round battle to triumph in his hometown.
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It came down to sheer determination.
"I was pretty ill. I got a bug. I fasted for 24 hours to try and get rid of it, then ate a little bit and this carried on till Thursday. Making weight was easy! It wasn't nice. I was really low on energy. Putting the weight back on, I didn't put anywhere near as much weight on as I normally would either," Billam-Smith said.
Nothing though was going to stop him, however. "I'm not letting 15,000 people down, no way. I was getting in that ring," he said. "I was never ever letting those fans down.
"I was emotional on that ringwalk. It was hard to contain," he continued.
"I think ringwalking first probably helped that. I thought, right, take a little bit of that and use it, use it as fuel. They're incredible and they have been from the off."
He was even more emotional after he had his hand raised in victory.
"I just couldn't believe it. To be world champion, it still hasn't sunk in," Billam-Smith said. "We've been through a lot together as a team in the gym.
"I couldn't believe it. Words can't describe that feeling. I'm sure there are people who have won a world title and can't describe that feeling. So much hardship goes into it.
"I've been away from my son for weeks on end. That's just one part of it.
"I've been ill this week. That's another part. That's a lot of adversity to endeavour through. All that adds up to emotion when you finally achieve it."
He had to choke back tears when he dedicated the victory to his mother.
"Every time I talk about my mum I end up emotional," Billam-Smith said. "She's an amazing woman. She's my hero, she really is. I think she's just always been my best mate and my rock and we found out probably six weeks ago that she's got breast cancer. Thankfully it's a small lump. She had it before.
"She's having another mastectomy in about two weeks' time. So, I just wanted to dedicate that to her. She's fought that off once. She had a stroke a couple of years ago, she's got through that and now she's fighting it again.
"So, that's obviously where I get my fighting spirit from."
