Chris Billam-Smith has revealed he considered retiring from boxing after losing his world title and headline status, but a mental reset has him ready to conquer the cruiserweight division again. The 36-year-old faces Cheavon Clarke in London on Saturday night, with victory potentially setting up a return to the world stage in 2027.
A Difficult Period After Losing the Title
Billam-Smith became a world champion three years ago in front of his home fans in Bournemouth against former sparring partner Lawrence Okolie. He defended that title against Mateusz Masternak, but the mood was starting to turn by the time he beat Richard Riakporhe at Selhurst Park and then lost his belt in a unification bout with Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez in Riyadh in late 2024.
“I struggled during the Riakporhe camp,” he says in an exclusive interview with Standard Sport. “I really missed home. And for Zurdo as well.”
Billam-Smith had started a family, adding to the strain of travelling up to London for his camps with trainer Shane McGuigan. Injury niggles were also building for the 36-year-old.
Returning After a Mental Reset
He returned to the ring to beat Brandon Glanton last year, on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr's first fight with Conor Benn. It required something of a mental reset.
“The Glanton camp was the worst,” Billam-Smith reflects. “I was coming off the back of a defeat, not headlining. I was so used to headlining shows.”
“It was a lot to process, losing my world title and my headline status. That was a difficult time for me.”
Asked if he considered hanging up his gloves, he admits: “Yeah, I had conversations with my wife about it. I was saying, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this for.’”
“Now I feel the opposite, so time is a great healer. There’s been some change with promoters and landscape and I’m really enjoying that. I’m enjoying where my body is at. I’ve ironed out some niggles that had been going on for years. I’m back enjoying it. I’m grateful I stuck it out and got to this place.”
Family Sacrifices and the Clarke Fight
Leaving his family behind has not got any easier. “It’s the hardest thing,” Billam-Smith says. “I’ve missed a lot during camps. I missed both my boys’ first steps. That becomes really difficult to compartmentalise and try and deal with. They’re never going to know, but I’ll know. I’ve got a four-year-old now and he hates when I go away.”
Billam-Smith, who dramatically stopped Ryan Rozicki in June on Zuffa Boxing’s UK debut, intends on making that all worth it when he fights Cheavon Clarke on Saturday night. The pair know each other well, having shared the ring in sparring. They also fought twice as amateurs, with both of those bouts won by Clarke.
“It really motivates me and gets the bit between my teeth,” Billam-Smith says. “Chev has improved but there’s a lot of similarities. With me, I'm a completely different fighter. Against domestic opponents, I’ve cleaned up over the years.”
At this stage, every fight is must-win and therefore a potential career-ender. “Oh yeah, for sure,” Billam-Smith says. “I need to keep stamping my authority on this cruiserweight scene.”
Asked if he has an end point in his mind for when he will walk away from the sport, he says, laughing: “Yeah, I have one. Me and my wife have an idea... we’ll keep that to ourselves.”
Eyes on Jai Opetaia and a Historic Title
A showdown with unbeaten cruiserweight Jai Opetaia is top of the wishlist, even if Billam-Smith expects the Australian to step up to heavyweight to fight Deontay Wilder later this year. “That’s one of the big reasons I signed with Zuffa, to fight him,” he says. “That’s a fight I know I can win.”
The aim is to return to the summit of a mountain he has already climbed. Do so and he will become Britain's first-ever two-time cruiserweight world champion. “I'm very confident I will,” Billam-Smith says. “I haven’t changed the mindset and diligence that got me there. Keep pushing and it will come.”
Zuffa Boxing returns to London's Copper Box Arena on Saturday, November 7, with an all-British cruiserweight main event, as former world champion Chris Billam-Smith faces Olympian Chev Clarke.
