For Chris Billam-Smith, the case for joining Zuffa Boxing was simple: 'Jai Opetaia'

BOURNEMOUTH, England — One narrative commonly told within the boxing business is that young fighters grow up dreaming of winning the green and gold belt of the WBC, the black and gold of the WBA, or the red and gold of the WBO and IBF.

>It is, perhaps, seen as one of the challenges Zuffa Boxing faces in its inaugural year as TKO’s upstart fight firm seeks to establish a belt no active boxer grew up yearning to win.

>Chris Billam-Smith, the former WBO cruiserweight world champion who headlines Zuffa Boxing’s first international show this Saturday, offered an alternative look.

>England’s Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs) dominated at a domestic level, built a fanbase in his home country, and now returns to Bournemouth for Zuffa Boxing 7 against the knockout puncher Ryan Rozicki, after headlining at English Premier League soccer stadiums and taking on Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

>For Billam-Smith, it’s no longer just about the sport’s four major world championship titles. He simply wants to prove he’s the best in the world at cruiserweight, and the only way to do that is by fighting the man many believe to be best in the division: Jai Opetaia, the unbeaten New Zealander whose presence in Zuffa alone drew Billam-Smith to sign with the same stable.

>“My focus is on proving I’m the No. 1 in the world, and when I signed with Zuffa, that was Jai Opetaia,” he told Uncrowned. “So that's why we’re going this way.”

Chris Billam-Smith punches Brandon Glanton during their cruiserweight fight in April, which Billam-Smith won by decision.Richard Pelham via Getty ImagesBefore he can challenge Opetaia, Billam-Smith, 35, must first dispatch Rozicki at the Bournemouth International Centre and reestablish himself as a force in a 200-pound division that’s had a recent shake-up. Tickets remain available for the show, and it’s something Billam-Smith is confident in doing.

>“If you look at our last opponents, there's a massive gulf in class there,” he said of Rozicki (21-1-1, 20 KOs), “and I think that I'm just a better all-around boxer.

>“I can do a lot of different things. I can box. I can fight. I'm very smart with what I do. I can punch, obviously, as well. And I've boxed at a higher level [than him], so that will help me.”

>Billam-Smith and Rozicki have had the same number of professional fights (23), but a turning point for the Brit came in 2019, before he finished Craig Glover for the Commonwealth title, when he ventured to Riga, Latvia to take his game to the next level by training alongside — and sparring — former three-time cruiserweight world champion Mairis Briedis.

>At that time, Briedis was a wrecking ball, pushing Oleksandr Usyk all the way to a close decision, out-pointing Noel Mikaelian, and then finishing Krzysztof Glowacki.

>And yet, before Briedis beat Yuniel Dorticos in 2020 to anoint himself as cruiserweight’s new No. 1 following Usyk’s departure from the division, Billam-Smith, not yet a contender, shared the ring with him, again and again, in Latvia.

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>“I'd only had 11 fights, but it was a great experience for me sparring [him],” Billam-Smith said, “and something that really benefitted me, because I was like, ‘This is the level I want to get to, and I'm not far off it’.”

>Billam-Smith has always acknowledged that the experience gap was valid and Briedis got “the better” of him in “good, competitive sessions,” which only helped him going forward as the Englishman went on to beat Isaac Chamberlain, Lawrence Okolie and Richard Riakporhe in subsequent years.

>With nearly seven years passed, he’s only lost once since that Riga trip — a setback on the scorecards after 12 rounds with Ramirez in a two-belt unification bout.

>Ramirez has since lost to David Benavidez in a dominant performance that Billam-Smith acknowledged as “superb,” noting that Benavidez carried his power — and kept his speed — in the move up from light heavyweight.

>“A lot of people thought [Benavidez] would win, but I was sure ‘Zurdo,’ especially the size of seeing him, would have imposed himself. But he couldn’t,” Billam-Smith said. “Benavidez’s power translated all the way up to cruiserweight, which is rare because of the 25-pound gulf in weight from light heavy to cruiserweight.

>“I knew it could happen, but I just didn't think that the weight and the speed would transfer as well as it did. But because it did, the result makes sense.

>“It’s great to have another big name in the division,” Billam-Smith added. “That’s what you want.”

>Boxing politics could scupper fights like that, though.

>It is unclear if Benavidez will remain at cruiserweight to defend his unified titles, or drop back down to the 175-pound division. He has also questioned why fighters like Opetaia "went to Zuffa," insisting he'd never "go over there and fight for a Zuffa title."

David Benavidez announced his presence in the cruiserweight division with a demolition of Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez in May.Anadolu via Getty ImagesThe WBC boss, Mauricio Sulaiman, recently even ordered a fight between Mikaelian and Benavidez, seemingly freezing Opetaia out from the sanctioning body picture.

>The current option for Mikaelian is to fight Benavidez or vacate the WBC belt and pursue Opetaia, possibly for the Zuffa belt.

>The broader context for the friction is that Zuffa has positioned itself as the alternative to the traditional method of competing through boxing’s four major sanctioning bodies. A cold war between the new firm and the old guard appears to be taking shape, and fighters are caught in the crosshairs as it seemingly leaves Opetaia and Billam-Smith with fewer options.

>But, the way Billam-Smith tells it, his option is superior.

>“I don't really understand [the friction], because surely you want the best in the world to hold your sanctioning belt,” he said.

>“For me, whether he's got one of the sanctioning body belts, or just a Zuffa belt, it doesn't matter because people see [Opetaia] as the No. 1 in the division, and it’s a fight that, for both of our legacies, has to happen.”

>Challenging Opetaia is his biggest “focus,” Billam-Smith finished.

>But it can’t come to fruition unless he goes out and handles business against Rozicki on Saturday.

>“I know I can stop him, and I believe that's what the outcome will be,” he said. “It could happen at any point in the fight. It just depends on how he reacts to my shot, to my speed.

>“It will be an interesting one — as long as it lasts.”