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Chris Billam-Smith has reiterated his desire to face Jai Opetaia ‘as soon as he can’ after his gruelling stoppage hometown victory over Ryan Rozicki in Bournemouth.
Billam-Smith claimed a bruising victory over the hard-hitting Canadian after an epic contest at the Bournemouth International Centre, where both fighters traded huge blows in a fight-of-the-year contender.
The former WBO cruiserweight champion secured the win via technical knockout when Rozicki was pulled out by his corner at the end of the seventh round, with Billam-Smith already turning his focus back to a future showdown with Opetaia.
Facing the unbeaten Australian cruiserweight has been earmarked a possibility since Billam-Smith first signed with Zuffa Boxing earlier this year, with the 35-year-old keen to make the contest happen.
“Yeah for sure, I want him [Opateia] next,” Billam-Smith told Sky Sports. “I know there’s been talk of him potentially having other fights as well but I want him next.
“If, for whatever reason, that can’t happen it has to be the one after – that’s the fight we’ve wanted for a long time.
“He has obviously come off this win against [Brandon] Glanton but I’m looking to get in the ring with him as soon as I can.”
WBC world cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian and three-division world champion David Benavidez are both possible next targets for Opateia, while Billam-Smith wants the ‘biggest fight’ available to him.
“As WBC champion that’d be great to fight Noel Mikaelian – that definitely is a fight we spoke about before, trying to get,” Billam-Smith added.
“He’s been calling me out before so it’d be great to get that fight on.
“If I can’t the Jai Opetaia fight then it’s the next biggest fight, it’s the one I want.”
Billam-Smith and Rozicki both went to hospital as a precaution after their epic encounter, with ‘The Gentleman’ pleased with his performance and full of praise for his opponent.
“We expected a fire fight and it was just about staying calm in the chaos,” Billam-Smith explained. “I think I did that pretty well and dealt with that pretty well.
“It was always going to be that way and the plan was to obviously get some work done as early as I could, but stay safe and then he will start tiring.
“If I just keep throwing, eventually the ref’s going to jump in, but then he just threw two shots back and the ref just moved away again. He’s one tough man.
“He’s the toughest man I think I’ll ever face, I don’t think I could hit any many people in the world that hard and they’d still be on their feet, so all respect to him.”
Zuffa Boxing shows are scheduled in Las Vegas on June 28 and New York on July 26 ahead of their first Irish show in Dublin on August 8, with all three live and exclusive in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream boxing with no contract.
Chris Billam-Smith has reiterated his desire to face Jai Opetaia ‘as soon as he can’ after his gruelling stoppage hometown victory over Ryan Rozicki in Bournemouth.
Billam-Smith claimed a bruising victory over the hard-hitting Canadian after an epic contest at the Bournemouth International Centre, where both fighters traded huge blows in a fight-of-the-year contender.
The former WBO cruiserweight champion secured the win via technical knockout when Rozicki was pulled out by his corner at the end of the seventh round, with Billam-Smith already turning his focus back to a future showdown with Opetaia.
Facing the unbeaten Australian cruiserweight has been earmarked a possibility since Billam-Smith first signed with Zuffa Boxing earlier this year, with the 35-year-old keen to make the contest happen.
“Yeah for sure, I want him [Opateia] next,” Billam-Smith told Sky Sports. “I know there’s been talk of him potentially having other fights as well but I want him next.
“If, for whatever reason, that can’t happen it has to be the one after – that’s the fight we’ve wanted for a long time.
“He has obviously come off this win against [Brandon] Glanton but I’m looking to get in the ring with him as soon as I can.”
WBC world cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian and three-division world champion David Benavidez are both possible next targets for Opateia, while Billam-Smith wants the ‘biggest fight’ available to him.
“As WBC champion that’d be great to fight Noel Mikaelian – that definitely is a fight we spoke about before, trying to get,” Billam-Smith added.
“He’s been calling me out before so it’d be great to get that fight on.
“If I can’t the Jai Opetaia fight then it’s the next biggest fight, it’s the one I want.”
Billam-Smith and Rozicki both went to hospital as a precaution after their epic encounter, with ‘The Gentleman’ pleased with his performance and full of praise for his opponent.
“We expected a fire fight and it was just about staying calm in the chaos,” Billam-Smith explained. “I think I did that pretty well and dealt with that pretty well.
“It was always going to be that way and the plan was to obviously get some work done as early as I could, but stay safe and then he will start tiring.
“If I just keep throwing, eventually the ref’s going to jump in, but then he just threw two shots back and the ref just moved away again. He’s one tough man.
“He’s the toughest man I think I’ll ever face, I don’t think I could hit any many people in the world that hard and they’d still be on their feet, so all respect to him.”
Zuffa Boxing shows are scheduled in Las Vegas on June 28 and New York on July 26 ahead of their first Irish show in Dublin on August 8, with all three live and exclusive in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream boxing with no contract.
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| 📰 Publicación: | www.skysports.com |
| ✍️ Autor: | |
| 📅 Fecha Original: | 2026-06-09 16:40:00 |
| 🔗 Enlace: | Ver artículo original |
Nota de transparencia: Este artículo ha sido traducido y adaptado del inglés al español para facilitar su comprensión. El contenido se mantiene fiel a la fuente original, disponible en el enlace proporcionado arriba.
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