IN many ways, Chris Billam-Smith embodies the relentless work ethic and obsessive attention to detail of a professional athlete.

Reaching an elite level in his chosen sport is most often a thankless and ruthless task, reserved only for those who are willing to make extraordinary sacrifices to realize their burning desires.

And yet, clearly, the arduous process involved in becoming a world champion – fulfilling a childhood dream – is not lost on Billam-Smith, someone who is passionate about maximizing his potential.

While other fighters resent the process – the long sets, the strength and conditioning, the making of weight – the WBO cruiserweight champion from Bournemouth is the opposite.

In fact, he not only embraces the labor-intensive side of his training, but also takes pride in knowing that when all is said and done, there will be no stone left unturned, and no sleepless nights spent thinking about what could have been done differently.

And this is what primarily focuses the professional athlete’s attention; focusing on the fact that reacting to failures and therefore always finding room for improvement is often the key to success.

Chris Billam-Smith – local hero and powerful world champion

Before his professional debut, Billam-Smith was, by his own admission, a solid if unremarkable amateur.

However, despite the lack of pedigree attached to his name, the south coast technician was able to attract the attention of esteemed trainer Shane McGuigan, who, along with his father, Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan, decided to take a chance on the unproven youngster.

But really, from the McGuigans’ point of view, there was no risk at all. In any case, they had seen enough of Billam-Smith’s sparring sessions with former super middleweight king George Groves to know that, in time, their investment would be rewarded for his persistence.

And so, with an experienced team at his side, the Briton took nine victories on the compact indoor track before rising to the next level to face domestic rival Richard Riakporhe.

His lack of experience in the heat of battle had no bearing on his performance, however, as Billam-Smith, who ultimately lost by a hard-fought split decision, gave an account of himself in which he demonstrated his incredible stamina and unwavering determination.

And that’s what eventually made him famed: a fighter who, although not the most talented, will always put on an awe-inspiring spectacle.

Indeed, this reputation was only strengthened when Billam-Smith won his first belt, stopping the brave but circumscribed Craig Glover with a brutal fifth-round finish for the Commonwealth title.

Dominant wins over Nathan Thorley and Vasil Ducar then preceded his clash with Tommy McCarthy, the European champion and close friend of former two-division king Carl Frampton.

However, with the deep-seated feud between Frampton and the McGuigans taking center stage in the build-up, Billam-Smith was forced to deal with more pressure than he perhaps expected.

Nevertheless, the fan-friendly operator handled the situation with a high degree of professionalism, resulting in a widely controversial split decision, and less than a year later, he put on a much more decisive showing in the second meeting.

By this point Billam-Smith had quickly developed a devoted fan base and on his next appearance he was given the opportunity to stage his eagerly anticipated homecoming to Bournemouth.

Not only did the rising contender put on the first-ever televised boxing show in a seaside town, but the main event – a compelling 12-round fight against Isaac Chamberlain – left fans yearning for even more action in the evening.

Needless to say, Billam-Smith did not disappoint. After extending his undefeated record with a knockout over Armend Xhoxhaj, the local hero scored his first shot at the bull’s-eye in a world title fight against his former stablemate Lawrence Okolie.

Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith argue in Bournemouth (Luke Walker/Getty Images)

And while he was undoubtedly preparing for the toughest test of his career, the end goal – a clash at the Vitality Stadium, home of his boyhood football club – provided, to put it mildly, enough motivation.

Meeting Okolie, a prolific knockout artist, obviously came with a lot of pressure. But pressure, as The Gentleman often points out, can be a privilege.

And so, after knocking down his opponent three times, the significant underdog secured a monumental majority victory – albeit in a somewhat gritty affair – and snatched the coveted WBO belt from his former sparring partner, becoming Bournemouth’s first world champion since Freddie Mills.

It is also possible that this night will never be equaled. Still, not willing to sail off into the sunset, Billam-Smith later defended his brilliance against seasoned veteran Mateusz Masternak before rematching Riakporhe at Selhurst Park, where in his second fight at a Premier League stadium he put in a much more convincing performance show. revenge on the Londoner.

Now the 34-year-old is preparing to fight WBA cruiserweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez in a mouth-watering unification fight. But regardless of the result in Saudi Arabia this Saturday, Billam-Smith’s story will always be defined by his mental determination, perseverance and, no doubt, unwavering passion to eliminate the competition through tough work.

WHEN Caleb Plant returns to the ring on Saturday night for his first fight in 18 months, he will do so under pressure unlike anything he has ever felt in his decade-long professional boxing career.

The 32-year-old has not boxed since the fight of the year with David Benavidez in March 2023, which he lost by unanimous decision, and one of the reasons for his absence was the change of the PBC network.

But in his absence from the ring, his daughter Charly has grown from a baby into a toddler who spends time in the gym, Plant says, during every sparring session. And on Saturday he will take part in a real fight for the first time.

“She’s in the gym with me almost every day and every time I spar, so there’s not a lot of extra pressure, but I have to put on a show for her,” Plant says with a smile.

“This will be her first fight in the building. We have compact headphones for her if it gets deafening, but this will be her first fight.

The moment will be especially meaningful for the Tennessee native, who has spoken openly about the tragic loss of his first daughter, Alia, who suffered from an unknown disease that Plant said caused 150 seizures a day. On January 29, 2015, at the age of just 19 months, Alia died in her mother’s arms.

Plant was then 5-0, 3 KOs, and in the nine years that followed the tragedy, he won world titles and emerged as one of the leading figures in American boxing. Plant says two-year-old Charly doesn’t leave home for training camp and is always present at his sessions.

“He runs around the gym and when I’m sparring he shouts, ‘Go, daddy!’ Good job, daddy! or he walks around and says, ‘Revenge trip,'” adds Plant. “It’s great fun, I love it. There’s nothing better than being a dad.

“I’m not a fighter who would have a problem putting my hand in the cookie jar or anything like that. I like being around my family, my wife doesn’t disturb me and I don’t have any distractions at home. Whether I’m at camp or not, I’m home and able to spend time with my daughter.

“I don’t do all the chores with her that I do outside the camp; [wife] Jordan is really progressing and managing most, if not all, while I’m training, but I still get to spend time with her throughout the day. I love being a dad, it’s great fun. I have a wonderful child who rarely whines or cries. He’s a really cold kid who’s always in a good mood, which makes life easier.

“Every morning he tells me and my wife, ‘I want to go to the gym, I want to go to the gym.’ I will leave and go to the gym and soon they will be behind me. He comes to all my sparring sessions. He says, “I want to go to the gym, spar with daddy, box with daddy, usk usk!”

Sometimes when I’m sparring she’ll say, “Daddy punches, Daddy punches,” so she knows what’s going on. She knows what’s going on.

Now she will have the opportunity to see her father in his real workplace for the first time, but the undefeated Trevor McCumby desperately hopes that this moment will be an unhappy one for the Plant family. The 31-year-old Glendale, Arizona native is 28-0, 21 KOs, but has never boxed longer than 12 rounds or fought anyone of Plant’s caliber. Therefore, its width is as much as 9/1 in the case of some bookmakers.

However, Plant’s favorite not only didn’t disrespect McCumby, he felt “personally offended” by his opponent’s decision to accept the fight at all.

“My coach was right,” Plant begins. “If he was that confident in his abilities, he wouldn’t have waited until he was 28-0 to escalate his effectiveness. Most players do this beforehand. I advanced with only 17 fights to fight for the world title as an underdog. Not many people do this, but most people raise the bar before 28-0. If he was confident, why would he wait until now?

“So in terms of me always taking it personally, I always have to compete eventually. Do you think I’m up to the task? Do you think you’ll go against me and take care of things? This won’t happen. I take it personally. I take it personally that he called me a quitter too.

“He said, ‘Caleb is giving up, we’ve seen this before,’ and that when our fight gets hard, I will find a way to give up. I felt offended because you could ask any boxing fan in the world and the last thing they would tell you is “Caleb is giving up.” I don’t know where the fuck he got that from, but we’ll find out on the 14th. We’ll see who leaves then.”

Despite this insinuation from McCumby, the truth is that any questions about Plant’s heart were emphatically answered in his last appearance, when he persevered until the final bell despite receiving shellac blows at times against Benavidez at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. It was the type of fight that can change a fighter forever and was the epitome of courage that boxing fans will never forget. But, unsurprisingly, 22-2 Plant doesn’t look back positively on that night.

“Even as an amateur,” he says. “One thing my dad always told me was that he never cared if I won male athlete of the night, and he never wanted me to win fight of the night. Me and David won Fight of the Year, but obviously you don’t want to be in too many of them because that means there was a lot of action and it was a close fight. If necessary, I’m ready to go out there, I’ve proven that, but the goal is to go in there and win easily.

“The only fight I focus on or care about is the one in front of me. It’s one fight at a time, September 14th, get to work. I know I have some gigantic fights ahead of me and I’m ready to take them.”

But first, he has to draw the line between having the longest break from the ring in his career. However, he assures that he has not grown vintage on the shelf and Saturday evening will be the culmination of the most successful training period of his life.

“There were times when the break seemed to go by slowly, but now that I look back, like most things, it actually went by quickly,” he adds. “Time flies when you’re having fun.

“I have been very busy and after today’s sparring I have done 359 rounds since my last fight. Of course, I’m very busy, even if you haven’t seen me. I’m crazy acute right now, I’m in crazy good shape and this is the best I’ve ever done in camp, the sharpest I’ve ever looked, and the most complete player I’ve ever been. He comes from sparring, just like me. But I’m almost to the point where I haven’t left everything in the gym, so I feel really good for this fight, I’m extremely confident and I’m excited.

“Of course I like training, but I do it for the glory. A warrior lives for one reason only: to fight, and he fights only to win. Training was fun, but I want to get out there, under those lights, and do what I love most.

And for the first time he will do it under the supervision of his youngest fan.

FRIDAY and Saturday night gave boxing fans a glimpse into the future.

There were a number of prospects on the Top Rank card, led by lightweight title challenger Keyshawn Davis, who showed he was ready for a world title shot.

Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez teamed up to lend a hand sell Matchroom’s latest American event, which produced both wins and various performances. In 2025, these three undefeated talents may have fights that will define their careers, but what will happen next?

analyzes potential options.

Keyshawn Davis

The pressure was on for the 25-year-old to not only beat Gustavo Lemos on Friday night, but to do so in impressive fashion in front of more than 10,000 fans at home in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Scope Arena was shaking with anticipation as Davis showed up on the biggest night of his career. Lemos had no answer to Davis’ precision and technique and was defeated in two rounds.

Davis then challenged Gervonta “Tank” Davis, but realistically he will have to bring more to the table. Keyshawn, Raymond Muratalla and Sam Noakes fight William Zepeda to face WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk. However, four will become three if Zepeda moves forward and fights Shakur Stevenson in February.

Plan A for Davis should include Berinchyk. Plan B could involve George Kambosos or a top-class lightweight eliminator against Muratalla. Kambosos may be priced too high and Bob Arum may not pair two future champions together. Another alternative, however, would be to call Frank Martin and take him to Norfolk, Virginia.

Ennis admitted he was “slothful” with Chukhadzian.
Photo by Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing

Jaron Ennis

If anyone needs a substantial fight, it’s Jaron Ennis. After eight years and 33 fights, his best win is against a B-list fighter. His second win over Karen Chukhadzhian was a no-brainer, but Ennis failed to lithe up the Wells Fargo Center.

One of the arguments may be that we will see the best “Boots” players against a much stronger opponent. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, said there were talks going on behind the scenes about Ennis moving up to super welterweight and fighting Vergil Ortiz. Ennis’s malice and cunning against Ortiz’s power and tenacity could lead to a violent confrontation.

There are also plans for welterweight unifications with Eimantas Stanionis, Mario Barros and Brian Norman Jr, but they do not touch the issue as much as the fight with Ortiz. If Ennis’ time at 147 pounds comes to an end, a move to 154 pounds could put him in contention for a fight with Terence Crawford if the price is right from Turki Alalshikh.

Rodriguez once again showed why he is one of the top talents in the sport with his win over Guevara. Photo: Amanda Westcott Matchroom Boxing

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez

People are running out of superlatives to describe this wonderful craftsman. And at the age of 24, it’s scary to think what he could still achieve. His third-round stoppage against Guevara was another highlight overdue in the match that left his promoter Eddie Hearn muttering about the future.

The number one super flyweight could weigh in at 115 pounds, and Rodriguez’s legacy should have the undisputed crown. Phumelele Cafu (WBO champion) and Fernando Martinez (WBA) have two obstacles in their way, and the IBF belt is currently vacant.

In time, becoming undisputed will make a potential future bantamweight fight with Junto Nakatani even more significant.