Chris Billam-Smith is convinced the winner of his fight with Ryan Rozicki will be on track for a future bout with Jai Opetaia.
On June 6, live on Sky Sports in his Bournemouth hometown, Billam-Smith returns to action against Canada’s hard-punching Rozicki.
He expects victory to set him up to challenge world-leading cruiserweight Jai Opetaia.
“Chasing the big names is what I’ve always done,” Billam-Smith told Sky Sports.
“I know the fight’s going to happen. I’m pretty sure he knows it’s going to happen at some point anyway. I think that’s the most important thing.”
He added: “You never know what Jai’s plans are, he might want to be out sooner than me. But that fight is going to happen at some point. I’m certain of it.
“That’s a big reason why I signed with Zuffa [Boxing, his new promoter]. There’s a few big reasons there, there’s Sky Sports, the entertainment powerhouses that they have in charge of Zuffa but also Jai Opetaia.
“If they didn’t have Jai it wouldn’t have been as big a move for me. Because I want the big fights. My career has always been chasing the big fights.”
Rozicki will be a genuine threat but Billam-Smith remains confident in himself.
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Trainer Shane McGuigan breaks down CBS’s mindset, explaining why the fighter consistently chooses the tougher path.
“I think my best performances come against big punchers because of that danger that they possess,” the British star said.
“For me it switches me back on. We’ve seen in the past that I can take a shot. But if you don’t feel it and the fear’s not there, you can take too many shots and it becomes a closer fight than it should be.
“But my most convincing wins have come against big punchers in Richard [Riakporhe] and Lawrence [Okolie]. I think they’re two of my best performances and two of the biggest punchers that I’ve faced,” he continued.
“You can’t have a bad night against him because of the power he carries so I need to be on it.
“A real big motivator for me is, I guess, that fear factor.”
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Watch Ryan Rozicki’s most explosive knockouts ahead of his Bournemouth showdown with Chris Billam-Smith on Saturday June 6.
He will also be driven to impress his raucous fans at the Bournemouth International Centre.
“When I’ve boxed there, they’ve always been exciting fights and they’ve always been phenomenal atmospheres and I think that’s what you want for boxing,” he said.
“Two things that can guarantee a good night of boxing – the BIC on a Chris Billam-Smith night.”
Watch Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki live on Sky Sports on Saturday June 6
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
