The Bournemouth International Centre plays host to the homecoming of Chris Billam-Smith as he defends his European and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles against domestic rival Isaac Chamberlain as they look to head toward world titles.
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Billam-Smith trains out of the McGuigan gym and made his way to the upper echelon of British cruiserweights at a quick rate. Billam-Smith raced to 9-0 before facing a 50/50 fight with Richard Riakporhe. Billam-Smith would be dealt a split decision loss in this bout, but it was ridiculously close, Billam-Smith was given a count in round seven which many believe was the only reason he fell short. Billam-Smith instantly bounced back, stopping Craig Glover in five rounds to pick up the vacant Commonwealth title.
After a successful defence of his Commonwealth strap over Nathan Thorley and a victory over Vasil Ducar, Billam-Smith would get a shot at Tommy McCarthy's European title. The vacant British title was added to the mix. Billam-Smith would pick up the belts, defeating McCarthy by a very close split decision. Billam-Smith would make a successful defence of his European strap against Dylan Bregeon before going on to definitively end his rivalry with McCarthy, stopping his man in eight rounds.
Chamberlain turned pro in 2015 and managed to pick up the Southern Area title in his sixth fight, defeating British veteran Wadi Camacho. Chamberlain sustained a shoulder injury in round three but valiantly fought on to pick up a points victory over ten rounds. Chamberlain continued to impress and landed a headline spot at the O2 Arena against Lawrence Okolie in his tenth bout. Chamberlain would be dealt a loss, as he was dropped twice by the now world champion and would lose by unanimous decision. Chamberlain would bounce back to face former Commonwealth champion, Luke Watkins. It was a close bout, but a big final round for Chamberlain swung the scorecard in his favour.
Chamberlain would be out of the ring for almost two years but would return with new promotional backing from Hennessy Sports. His first bout back would be over in three rounds as he stopped Anthony Woolery with a huge body shot. Matt Sen would be the next man in Chamberlain's way, but Chamberlain would make light work of Sen, stopping him in one round. Chamberlain's next bout was the same too, as he stopped Ben Thomas in a round. Next came a bout with Dilan Prasovic. Prasovic had just faced Lawrence Okolie for a world title but returned to these shores for a fight with Chamberlain. Chamberlain wasted no time with Prasovic, as he stopped his with a body shot to pick up the IBF International title.
The undercard features the highly anticipated debut of Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker. Whittaker had a lot of attention on him when he opted to leave the amateur ranks and looks to get his professional career off to an exciting start when he faces Greg O'Neill this Saturday. Frazer Clarke is the second Olympic presence on this card. Clarke defeated Jake Darnell on his debut and will now be in pursuit of his second victory.
Caroline Dubois makes up the Olympic trio on this bill as she returns to the ring for the third time as a pro as she faces Happy Daudi. Hassan Azim will be looking to emulate his brother Adam's success as he looks to move to 4-0 in Bournemouth. KO artist Mikael Lawal was recently mandated to fight Deion Jumah for the British cruiserweight title and looks to have a tune-up in Bournemouth this weekend.
Joe Pigford also features on this bill, as the heavy-handed super welterweight looks to ad the WBO European title to his arsenal. Local man Lee Cutler hopes to impress as he returns to the ring for the 12th time. Irish KO artist Stevie McKenna also features as he looks to move to 12-0.
This huge cruiserweight clash, with a stellar undercard, takes place this Saturday in Bournemouth and will be live on Sky Sports from 7 pm.