Lawrence Okolie vs. Chris Billam-Smith | Sky Sports - 27 May 2023

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Joshua Buatsi, Chris Billam-Smith and Adam Azim to top three blockbuster bills live on Sky Sports

BOXXER have announced three big bills coming up this summer, headlined by Joshua Buatsi, Chris Billam-Smith and Adam Azim.

BOXXER will stage their first-ever UK stadium show on the Bank Holiday weekend in May, heading back to Bournemouth for another blistering battle on the beach on Saturday, May 27 with hometown hero Chris Billam-Smith top of the bill.

It takes place at the 15,000-capacity Vitality Stadium - home of Premier League football team Bournemouth. An opponent for diehard Cherries supporter Billam-Smith will be revealed next Monday at a press conference in London in a main event that promises to be one of the fights of the year.

Domestic cruiserweight quality will occupy the chief support slot on the South Coast with Mikael Lawal making his first defence of the British cruiserweight championship he won by stopping David Jamieson in November.

Standing opposite him will be Isaac Chamberlain, making his second trip to Bournemouth following his unsuccessful attempt to take the Commonwealth and European cruiserweight belts from Billam-Smith in July last year.

[garethhop]

This will do well.

Great supporting fight and assume the headline fight is for a world title.

[Ruthless-RKO]

They gonna call this

"Blistering Battle on the Beach"

[ashall2]

Same night as the Conlan world title fight on BT but guess they don't have much room for manoeuvre as Bournemouth will want to get the pitch dug up in June.

[cpx2]

Opponent next Monday - hopefully it's Goulamirian or Riakporhe, but if it's Masternak for the IBF interim ...

[THEBUTCH]

Both Billam-Smith and Bournemouth deserve some big nights and good luck to them. Chris has worked hard for his success and in establishing a huge following in that part of world. I hope he wins, gets a good payday out of it....and then starts targeting a world title fight.

[maverick23]

Pleased for CBS to get a fight at the stadium. Pretty much always in good fights and seems like a good bloke too.

Hopefully it’s a meaningful fight.

[wrighty]

Can Chamberlain best Lawal?

[wrighty]

Pleased for CBS to get a fight at the stadium. Pretty much always in good fights and seems like a good bloke too.

Hopefully it’s a meaningful fight.

I was thinking before he took the Parker fight, that Massey would have targeted that. He beat CBS in the ABA finals years ago and would have come with a nice pay day etc. Perhaps it'll be someone with a wbc ranking. I think CBS would fancy that Jack fight.

[ashall2]

I like watching CBS. A proper ‘take one to give one’ fighter... hopefully he gets a good opponent then can fight for a world title.

[norfolkinchance]

Unfortunately it’s on a Weekend that Bmth are playing Liverpool away so that’s a couple of thousand fans who won’t be likely to make it.
Even worse it the same weekend as Bournemouth 7s which is a huge sports and drinking festival which 30k people go to.
A load of locals will have bought tickets for that already.
His last show in Bmth struggled to sell and I think this one will be impacted too.
I know Cbs and I think he’s already got a huge amount of miles on the clock. At some point his chin is just going to crack. I also think his boxing skills are deteriorating. As an amateur he was a solid defense and operated off a good jab and tight guard.
Shane has made him more powerful but at the expense of his defense.

[ashall2]

To be announced tomorrow.

Interesting back story with the 2 being former team-mates until very recently. Can’t recall a fighter every coming up against their ex-trainer so soon after a split.

Annoying that it’s the same night as Lara/Wood and Conlan/Lopez as they’re all great fights.

[garethhop]

LO's last fight forced him into this really.

I think given whats on the line and the CBS approach this could be a really great fight. Wonder if they try PPV?....

[forcefraser]

Okolie is rarely in really good fights.

He's big enough to spoil CBS if he choses to

[Glass Joe]

I think Okolie will stop CBS pretty early. Okoile will have something to prove and CBS doesnt have the best defence thought Chamberlain hurt him early.

[TheLeprechaun]

CBS will have the benefit of a trainer who knows all about Okolie but I think he will struggle. Okolie will octopus him in close and CBS is robotic so he will get hit with right hands.

[Twinkle Toes]

Smith gets hurt every time he's out, don't see this being any different.

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[cpx2]

Decent fight, hope they make Riakporhe-Goulamirian this summer as well. I wonder if there'll be some beef engineered between CBS/McGuigan and Okolie based on Lawrence leaving to go train in Miami. They all seemed quite amicable, but that was before much talk of a fight was going on.

[maverick23]

Good move for Okolie. Gets people forgetting about his last fight which was real poor and I think CBS is well made for him.

Shame it’s up against the 2 other shows though.

[mickey1975]

I listened to something with a Bournemouth fighter the other day who said the buzz wasn't the same last time out for CBS and he's taking more damage than he used too. Bank Holiday seaside cash out already?

[maninthemiddle]

Sky/BT/DAZN all on at the same time. Wud they do the same with Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal or any other sport for that matter?? Apart from the last game of the season maybe when they all “have” to kick off at the same time. I think this is the biggest problem in boxing. Broadcasters not communicating and working with each other is a bigger problem than promoters not working with each other.
If the sport was on three consecutive Saturdays instead of all 3 on one night the promotion and focus on the sport would be so much greater.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Sky/BT/DAZN all on at the same time. Wud they do the same with Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal or any other sport for that matter?? Apart from the last game of the season maybe when they all “have” to kick off at the same time. I think this is the biggest problem in boxing. Broadcasters not communicating and working with each other is a bigger problem than promoters not working with each other.
If the sport was on three consecutive Saturdays instead of all 3 on one night the promotion and focus on the sport would be so much greater.

Saturday Night Wars!!

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Former Stablemates Lawrence Okolie And Chris Billam-Smith Set For Bournemouth Stadium Fight

Chris Billam-Smith (17-1 12KOs) has finally landed his dream fight at the 11,000-capacity Vitality Stadium, in Bournemouth but it’s not the opponent he probably expected.

“CBS” is set to challenge for the WBO Cruiserweight Championship against his former stable mate unbeaten Brit, Lawrence Okolie (19-0, 14 KOs). The bout is expected to headline a Ben Shalom/BOXXER promotion on Saturday 27th May, live on Sky Sports.

Billam-Smith has made huge strides in his professional career. With not much hope for the Bournemouth fan favourite after losing to Richard Riakporhe in 2019, he has bounced back impeccably, winning the British, Commonwealth, and European titles, headlining 2 shows in his hometown along the way to establishing himself as a top 10 cruiserweight in the world.

Okolie vs Billam-Smith clashes with Michael Conlan‘s world title challenge against Mexico’s Luis Alberto Lopez at The SSE Arena in Conlan’s hometown of Belfast, live on BT Sport in the UK. Matchroom/DAZN are also planning a card on this day expected to be headlined by a world title fight at Featherweight which pits either Leigh Wood or Josh Warrington against WBA champion Mauricio Lara.

Cruiserweight has been in somewhat of a limbo since the departure of former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk. The last four years have been difficult for the division with vacant titles, controversial knockouts, legal battles over contractual status, sanctioned fights against super middleweights, and Super Mario YouTube callouts dominating the conversation instead of unifications but 2023 could finally be the year that changes.

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