Chris Billam-Smith wants Jai Opetaia next but the cruiserweight contender won’t put his career on hold to wait for the former IBF beltholder.
A contest between the two has long been mentioned and, with both joining Zuffa Boxing, it seemed likely it would come to fruition. But Billam-Smith hasn’t heard anything about the matchup since he overcame the wildly durable Ryan Rozicki in seven rounds in June.
“I have no idea what’s going on with [Opetaia] but that was the one we’re up for,” Billam-Smith, 22-2 (14 KOs), told Sky Sports. “I’m not sure what the plan is there. I haven’t hear anything.
“I’m not going to wait around. I want to be out again this year. I’ve no idea what’s next.”
The 35-year-old, who lost his WBO cruiserweight strap to Gilberto Ramirez in 2024, insisted he will be ready to fight again as early as October. That would be some turnaround considering the brutal nature of his Bournemouth barnstormer with Rozacki.
“It was definitely a lot less brutal for me,” Billam-Smith reflected. “A lot of the shots I was riding…
“It was good to get through that agin because I’d been so long out of the ring. It was great to see how well conditioned I am.”
During the bout, Rozicki looked on the brink of falling several times before rallying back. In the end, it was his corner who pulled out the Canadian before the eighth round.
“In the third round I hit him with that uppercut and he looked like he was going down and somehow stayed up and 10 seconds later he was throwing punches back…
“I thought at some point in the next few rounds I would get to him. There’s only so much a human can take.”
