Chris Billam-Smith and Cheavon Clarke finished the ceremonial weigh-in with a wide-eyed staredown.
Billam-Smith maintained a steely, unblinking glare until Clarke looked away.
They box on Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena, live on Sky Sports, and Billam-Smith pledged simply that the fight would be “a violent one”.
Does that mean he intends to end it inside the distance? “Absolutely.”
Clarke though has beaten Billam-Smith before, defeating him twice in amateur bouts a decade ago.
“Twenty-five-year-old me will be very happy tomorrow night,” Billam-Smith said.
“[Clarke] is going to be confident, he’s come off a good win but I know what I’m capable of and that’s all that matters.”
He might have beaten the Bournemouth man as an amateur, but Clarke has been overshadowed by Billam-Smith as a pro. He wants to change that on Saturday.
“After tomorrow night you guys will be talking my name,” Clarke said. “It’s going to be explosive.
“It’s been a very, very tough camp. Come tomorrow night you guys will see.”
Mosley missed weight on first attempt
Shane Mosley Jr missed weight on the first attempt for his middleweight clash with Denzel Bentley.
Mosley fights Bentley in the chief support to Billam-Smith vs Clarke on Saturday.
The son of boxing legend Shane Mosley, the American contender took to the scales on Friday morning for the official weigh-in.
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Shane Mosley Jr produced the performance of his career as he floored Serhii Bohachuk in the sixth round before forcing an impressive stoppage win.
Tall and big for the weight, Mosley looked gaunt as he stepped on to the scales. Stripping to shave off some additional weight, he stepped on to the scales behind a screen but was still one pound over the middleweight limit for his first attempt.
London’s Bentley looked in fine condition as he hit the 160lb limit exactly. He stayed to watch Mosley return to the scales. The American took almost the full hour to shed the final pound but did so, having to strip again. The fight is on.
“He’s made the weight now, hopefully rehydrates nice and healthy and we have a good fight tomorrow,” Bentley told Sky Sports. “It’s not his first time making middleweight. I feel fit and well that gives me confidence, the fact that I feel so good.
“That’s what makes it a good fight, both of us are confident. We haven’t got to be at each other’s throats to make a fight. We’re both respectful but we’re letting each other know I think I’m coming out the victor.”
Mosley Jr dismissed the weight miss as a ‘miscalculation’.
“I just miscalculated a little bit but we got it done,” he said later. “I win this fight on points, outclass him.
“You know I’m ready, I can’t wait.”
Shane Mosley Jr on the scales on Friday morning (Photo: Zuffa Boxing)
Clarke made weight easily, scaling 198.8lbs. For Billam-Smith it was a harder cut but he came in at 199.5lbs.
Both Billam-Smith and Clarke are coming off thrilling wins, beating Ryan Rozicki and Jack Massey respectively in barnstorming bouts in Bournemouth in June. That put the two on a collision course.
Zuffa Boxing promoter Dana White told Sky Sports: “It’s always about putting on the best fights with the best fighters. After his showing in the main event in Bournemouth was incredible. Every time you have a fight a different storyline is built and different guys that build to bigger and better fights.
“Styles make fights and stylistically that should be a fun fight. CBS and Rozicki was one of the craziest fights I’ve ever seen and it really put those two on the map now in the boxing scene. So hopefully we get another one of those.”
Watch Billam-Smith vs Clarke on Saturday live on Sky Sports.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
