WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith says he is “ready to go” for a return to the ring in November – whether that is against Lawrence Okolie or a different opponent.
Okolie, who trained alongside Billam-Smith earlier in his career, asked for a rematch clause ahead of their world title bout in May – which Billam-Smith won by majority decision.
A second fight is yet to be arranged, and asked whether there would be a rematch, Billam-Smith told Sky Sports: “Who, and when, are two good questions”.
“Obviously, Lawrence has got a rematch clause, so we’re waiting to see.
“His team asked for the rematch clause, we gave him that, so that was always in the back of our mind, that we’d have to beat him twice to then move on and look to unify.”
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Speaking on the Toe2Toe podcast, Callum Smith decribed Chris Billam-Smith’s victory over Lawrence Okolie in front of his home fans as a ‘fairy-tale’.
The rivals previously trained together at Shane McGuigan’s gym, but that partnership was put to the side as they fought for the world title in what Billam-Smith called a “fairy tale”.
Billam-Smith told Sky Sports he has not spoken to Okolie since the hours after their fight in May, with the potential rematch still on his mind.
“We were gym mates,” he said. “We didn’t ever hang out with each other outside the gym.
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Barry Jones questions whether Lawrence Okolie was suitably upset after the first defeat of his professional career to Chris Billam-Smith. You can listen to the latest episode of the Toe2Toe Podcast now.
“We supported and helped each other get to this stage – I said that to him on the night.
“We both helped each other get there and now we’re against each other – that’s the way the business works.
“He texted me the day after the fight, but since then, we haven’t spoken and we’ve thought we’re going to be boxing him again.”
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Lawrence Okolie praises the performance of Chris Billam-Smith after losing his WBO cruiserweight world title and insists he’ll make the necessary adjustments if the two were to rematch.
Billam-Smith says he will fight in November, regardless, and then aim to unify the cruiserweight belts.
He said: “I think I’ve hit that high, and now it’s very much behind me and about looking forward – I don’t think you can sit on it for too long.
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Chris Billam-Smith sent the home-town crowd wild as he delivered Lawrence Okolie’s first knockdown of his professional career.
“I’m ready to go in November, and that was always the plan.
“The other champions, I think, at the moment are busy and I want to fight this year, so I’ll probably have one in between and then look to unify.
“As high as that night was, walking out into the stadium [the Vitality Stadium in his home town of Bournemouth] – a dream of mine to do as a footballer when I was a kid, there’s another goal now, and that’s to get the other belts.”