Sports · Combat Sports · 2 hrs ago
Billam-Smith faces Clarke in a bid to settle a 10-year-old score
Chris Billam-Smith and Cheavon Clarke meet on Saturday in the headline bout at London’s Copper Box Arena.
Clarke beat Billam-Smith in the 2016 national amateur final, a defeat that ended Billam-Smith’s hopes of winning the title and reaching the Olympic programme.
Clarke went on to join the GB squad and become an Olympian, while Billam-Smith turned professional and later won a world title.
Billam-Smith now wants to avenge that loss and says he has changed from a defensive amateur boxer into a more forward-moving professional.
The fight is a chance to settle a rivalry that has lasted a decade, although the two have taken different paths in boxing.
Both fighters are now with Zuffa Boxing, and the bout is scheduled for Saturday.
Billam-Smith has also long wanted to face WBA champion Jai Opetaia, but that prospect is less certain as Opetaia plans to move up to heavyweight to fight Deontay Wilder in December.
Chris Billam-Smith will fight Cheavon Clarke on Saturday at the Copper Box Arena in London.
The bout gives Billam-Smith a chance to settle a score from their amateur days, when Clarke beat him in a 2016 national championships final.
Billam-Smith said he wants revenge, though he views himself as a very different fighter now.
Clarke’s victory helped lead to a place on the GB squad and an Olympic career.
- Who
- Chris Billam-Smith and Cheavon Clarke.
- What
- They will fight in the headline bout, with Billam-Smith seeking to avenge Clarke’s amateur victory over him.
- When
- Saturday; the articles do not state the calendar date.
- Where
- Copper Box Arena in London.
- Why
- Billam-Smith wants to settle the score from their 2016 amateur final.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Clarke beat Billam-Smith in the final of the national championships, helping set their careers on different paths.
Billam-Smith and Clarke are due to meet in the headline bout at the Copper Box Arena in London.
- Fighters
- Chris Billam-Smith and Cheavon Clarke
- Venue
- Copper Box Arena, London
- Amateur final
- Clarke beat Billam-Smith in the 2016 national championships final
- Billam-Smith's record
- Two losses in 22 professional fights
- Clarke's pathway
- The 2016 win led to a place on the GB squad and an Olympic career
4 sources
What people are saying
Amateur and pro is a different sport and had I not changed enough as a pro and I was still that out-and-out boxer then this fight, and my outlook on it, would be different
I wouldn't dance as my celebration, but he won his fight, he can celebrate how he wants.
I was dancing like a madman