Chris Billam-Smith got the spectacular win he was after as he flattened Armend Xhoxhaj in the fifth round in Bournemouth to seemingly clear the way for a world-title shot next year.
Billam-Smith had been rocked in the second round, but finished Xhoxhaj off in stunning fashion with a sensational seven-punch barrage.
He now hopes to tempt a world champion to Bournemouth for as soon the football season ends in May, when they will be able to stage a fight at the Vitality Stadium. Jai Opetaia, the IBF cruiserweight champion, is the top target right now.
“Jai Opetaia wants this fight, Chris Billam-Smith wants this fight – Chris Billam-Smith is going to fight for a world title in Bournemouth and it is going to be unbelievable,” Ben Shalom, the head of Boxxer, said.
“Jai Opetaia is a great champion,” Billam-Smith said. “He beat the man, when Mairis Briedis was the man, now it is my turn to beat the man.”
Billam-Smith had longed to fight in his hometown for years and even left Matchroom to sign with Boxxer over the issue. But he had a feeling that he hadn’t fully done himself justice when he beat Isaac Chamberlain at the same venue in the summer. Although having had a rushed five-week camp after becoming a father, Billam-Smith had reasons for under-performing.
But he wanted to make a statement against Xhoxhaj. Not only to his new promoters, the Sky viewers and the crowd that turned up at the Bournemouth International Centre, but to the world champions in the cruiserweight division.
Xhoxhaj flew out of the blocks at the opening bell, getting on the inside and trying to land his big right. Billam-Smith worked at establishing his jab and landed one decent left hook, but Xhoxhaj held his own and got through with his uppercut.
Billam-Smith started the second round with two big lefts to the body and an uppercut had Xhoxhaj backing away. But as Billam-Smith pawed out a left jab, Xhoxhaj landed a right over the top that wobbled him.
Xhoxhaj looked to seize his chance and backed Billam-Smith into the ropes, unloading. Billam-Smith covered up well, but Xhoxhaj then landed another good right and an uppercut.
The third was a better round for Billam-Smith as he withstood an early attack from Xhoxhaj and there were signs late in the round that he was starting to wear the Kosovan down. That continued in the fourth, as the body punches looked to soften Xhoxhaj up a bit and he finished the round with a big right, although Xhoxhaj still looked dangerous when he threw the right.
Early in the fifth, there were more signs that Xhoxhaj was slowing up and finding it harder to land, before, out of the blue, Billam-Smith found an attack to finish it.
It started with a left hook in mid-ring, quickly followed by a right uppercut and a bigger left hook. Xhoxhaj tried to cover up but was caught by a left to the body, a left hook and a jarring right that badly hurt Xhoxhaj. As Xhoxhaj tried to move closer, Billam-Smith backed off and landed a huge right that seemed to knock Xhoxhaj out on his feet. Then his legs collapsed under him as he crashed down backwards.
The referee, Keiran McCann, waved it off instantly at 1:52 of the round, while Shane McGuigan got to Billam-Smith to stop his celebrations while Xhoxhaj was treated by paramedics. Fortunately, Xhoxhaj was soon back on his feet.
“It was exactly what I thought it was going to be,” Billam-Smith said. “I wasn’t probably switched on enough in the beginning and got caught with a few silly shots, but I got the job done, adapted and listened to the corner.
“Even in the last round Shane was saying ‘sit down a little bit more’. I started doing that, walked him into a few shots and obviously hurt him. Thankfully he is OK.
“He buzzed me momentarily, I was more annoyed with myself than hurt. I shouldn’t be getting caught with shots like that, especially as I knew that was the shot that would be coming.”
Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.
