Lawrence Okolie will defend his WBO cruiserweight world title against Chris Billam-Smith at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth on May 27th.
It had already been announced that hometown hero Billam Smith would fight on the date, however reports of a big domestic dust up with Okolie only emerged over the past few days.
IT’S ON!
On May 27th, the Vitality Stadium will host a HUGE all-British world title clash when WBO cruiserweight world champion @Lawrence_tko enters the lion’s den against Bournemouth’s very own @ChrisBillam-Smith@afcbournemouth | 27.05.23 | @skysportsboxing
— BOXXER (@boxxer) April 4, 2023
As if an all British world title fight wasn’t enticing enough, the fact the pair were good friends and stablemates a matter of months ago adds another layer of spice.
Okolie and Billam-Smith trained together for years at Shane McGuigan’s gym, before the former left in late 2022 and has since linked up with Sugar Hill Steward.
‘The Sauce’ had his first outing under Steward last month at the Manchester Arena, however failed to impress in a laboured 12 round points victory over mandatory challenger David Light.
It was his first outing in over a year, mainly due to legal issues with former promoter Eddie Hearn, so perhaps the 30 year old can be forgiven some slight ring rust.
As for Billam-Smith, his decision to leave Matchroom for Sky Sports and Boxxer seems to have been a prudent one, as the show on the 27th will be his third consecutive time headlining in his native Bournemouth.
‘The Gentleman’s ambition of fighting for a world title at the Vitality may have seemed like a pipe dream to some.
However, a fight of the year contender against Isaac Chamberlain followed by a stunning knockout of Armend Xhoxhaj have made Billam-Smith a star down in Dorset, and there is every chance the 11,000 capacity stadium will be sold out in eight weeks’ time.