Chris Billam-Smith: I have a better resume than Joy Opetaya! | ‘I think it’s always an inevitable struggle’ Boxing news

Chris Billum-Smith is confident he will return to the top of the cruiserweight division despite threats from Ryan Rosicky.

Billam-Smith takes on Rosicky at the Bournemouth International Center on Saturday, live Sky Sports.

For former WBO world champion Billam-Smith, elite cruiserweight Joy Opetaya remains a top target.

“I think it was always going to be an inevitable fight,” Billam-Smith said Sky Sports. “I think if I beat ‘Jurdo’ (Gilberto Ramirez) it would have been done by now. I think that will be the next fight.

“But obviously things happen and I think I’ll be better prepared for it now. Having gone through the loss and I think I’ll be a better fighter for it and it (the Opatija fight) is going to happen at some point.”

Opetaya is a notoriously undefeated champion, but Billam-Smith has maintained her own track record of success, comparing favorably with the Australian.

“I think if you go name for name, I’ve got a better resume than that. I don’t think you can argue with that,” he said of Opetaya.

“A lot of his wins have come by knockout, even if he’s had good performances and stuff like that. Obviously he dropped that in the (Myris) Briddis fight, but he’s shown a lot. He’s shown that he’s got knockout power. He’s shown that he can get hurt and come back and win and I think that’s an important thing.

“He’s got a lot of skill, he’s a great fighter and that’s exactly why I want to get in the ring with him and see who comes out on top,” continued Billam-Smith.

“It’s about the best fight that I can look back on my career and go: I have no regrets. And I believe when that time comes, I’ll have the opportunity to fight him and take that opportunity with both hands.”

First there is the immediate threat to deal with. Rosicky is a dangerous man with a knockout ratio of over 95 percent.

“Everybody has weaknesses. You have to be focused with him because he can blow your lights out at any time with his punching power. I think he’s got power in all his shots as well,” said Billam-Smith.

“He gets a lot of power on his left hook, (to the body) to the head, but knocks people out with his right and right uppercut. He’s got more variety in his power so he’s more dangerous in that sense.

“Sometimes he’ll put his shots together and they’ll all be weighty. They might not be as quick as some guys but they’re all going to carry power. So you can’t stand there and target him.

“He has a lot of ability and a lot of versatility. I think that’s what makes him so dangerous.

“And how tough he is. He’s one of those guys where you hit him and he’ll want to hit you three times.”

But if he does get hurt, Billam-Smith vows to fight through it. “If your arm is broken, your elbow hurts, your shoulder is out of socket, you have another arm. That’s how I look at it,” he declares.

“Which might be the wrong way to look at it, but I feel that as a fighter and a warrior you have to do it.”

He hopes his high level of experience will carry him through. “It depends on how you use it. I think it’s beneficial for me,” asserts Billam-Smith.

“The pinnacle of achievement for me is still in front of me. So that’s really important. I’m still on my path and that’s how I see it. It’s really important to focus on that.”

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