BN Verdict: In a seaside eyesore Billam-Smith holds it together as Okolie loses both control and his belt

SOMETIMES, so nice is a fighter’s desperation to not lose, they will find yourself doing issues within the ring that guarantee defeat is the one possibility. To their confusion, and our collective dismay, self-preservation turns into self-sabotage and earlier than you understand it the fighter in query, afraid to expertise defeat, is left uncertain whether or not his opponent obtained the higher of him on the evening or, finally, he obtained the higher of himself.

Tonight (May 27), in Bournemouth, this story, one as previous as time, performed out as soon as once more in the course of the WBO cruiserweight title struggle between Chris Billam-Smith and Lawrence Okolie. An odd, messy eyesore of a struggle, this battle by the seaside promised to be awkward from as early as spherical one and solely obtained extra awkward, too, with Okolie, the champion, apparently decided to undermine any good, clear work within the struggle by falling into the type of ugly conditions which have blighted his professional profession thus far. This meant that regardless of gorgeous Billam-Smith within the first spherical, for instance, and touchdown a number of wonderful straight proper crosses and uppercuts all through, Okolie’s undoing was in the long run his incapacity to take confidence from these successes and keep the posture and stance of a champion within the ascendancy. Instead, from as early as spherical one, the 30-year-old from Hackney lower a frightened, skittish determine, one filled with nervous vitality however missing any form of kind. With this nervous vitality got here a sure hazard, in fact, however largely it simply resulted in Okolie throwing a single punch and then instantly leaping in to carry Billam-Smith, usually making the transfer earlier than the punch had even totally related.

Sadly, for anybody acquainted with Okolie’s recreation, this strategy may have come as no shock. Yet it is a disgrace nonetheless that the previous Olympian, given all his bodily attributes, couldn’t perceive the diploma to which it was undoing all his good work and do one thing to curb it. Rather than that, he merely produced extra and extra of it as the struggle went on, resulting in a couple of level deductions and quite a few warnings from the referee, Marcus McDonnell, whose endurance was examined all through. Even Billam-Smith, a man who as soon as shared a gymnasium with Okolie and is due to this fact accustomed to his fashion, couldn’t imagine what he was having to endure in entrance of his dwelling followers in Bournemouth. Time and time once more, in truth, he might be seen trying over the shoulder of Okolie and taking pictures an exasperated look within the route of both McDonnell, en path to separating them, or his nook group.

It was no fault of Billam-Smith, the character of this efficiency and struggle. In entrance of his raucous dwelling assist, he managed to maintain his kind and his composure, which isn’t any straightforward activity when within the presence of a spoiler, and he additionally landed one of the best shot of the struggle: a crisp left hook in spherical 4 which dropped Okolie for the primary time. There had been two different knockdowns following that preliminary breakthrough, one within the tenth spherical and one other within the eleventh spherical, however neither appeared significantly clear and neither of them ought to have counted. Still, McDonnell couldn’t be blamed for mistaking Okolie’s ungainly fashion and coordination points for a man being surprised, staggered, or harm. A blur of limbs, Okolie would often chase after Billam-Smith, particularly as soon as realising he was behind, solely to then swap this pretence of aggression for one in all uncertainty as soon as he was shut sufficient to seize maintain of a a part of his opponent’s anatomy. This, in truth, was demonstrated slightly completely when Okolie discovered himself floored for the third time within the bout. On that event, as if mimicking an excitable canine, Okolie had a rely issued in opposition to him for basically diving in to carry Billam-Smith’s leg. (I want I used to be joking.)

All in all, there was a sense when watching Okolie that he was conspiring to lose what may have been a very winnable struggle. It wasn’t fairly Andrew Golota ranges of self-sabotage however it wasn’t far off, both. After all, each time the champion really maintained his composure and fired off one thing clear, it was clear he possessed the velocity, the facility and the accuracy to no less than unsettle Billam-Smith and have him assume twice about exchanging willy-nilly. In these moments, even when Okolie had possibly earlier been dropped within the spherical, or had a level deduction within the spherical, there remained a feeling that he was only one massive proper hand away from swinging issues again in his favour. That, in some methods, is a testomony to both his energy and his dedication to maintain going within the face of adversity, most of which he created himself. What can be says is that Okolie, regardless of dropping level after level for varied causes (some reputable, others much less so), was endlessly within the struggle, proper till the very finish, and will due to this fact, like Golota earlier than him, tonight rue his incapacity to carry it all together and really imagine in himself.

Why that’s we are going to most likely by no means know. Certainly, although, this isn’t the primary time Okolie, 19-0 (14), has allowed his concern with getting hit, or crushed, to get in the way in which of all the wonderful work he can probably do. It has occurred earlier than in far much less dramatic circumstances and it has occurred, too, in opposition to opponents far much less succesful than Billam-Smith.

As for Billam-Smith, he was, in stark distinction to his opponent, a image of professionalism all through. Measured, busy, and at all times prepared to match his opponent in an change, he by no means as soon as let Okolie settle within the struggle and appeared to develop a knack for touchdown one thing vital each time Okolie started to loosen up and acquire simply sufficient confidence to neglect holding as an offensive software. He additionally displayed a nice chin and fantastic powers of restoration, usually taking laborious photographs from Okolie solely to stroll via them and proceed strolling Okolie down. This left Okolie a man confused, unnerved by his incapacity to make a dent in somebody who wouldn’t be denied, and it left Billam-Smith sporting the injuries of battle on the finish (he sported a nasty gash by his left eyebrow).

Of the 2 cruiserweights, there may be no denying that just one had turned up wanting a struggle and that man was Billam-Smith, 18-1 (12). Okolie, in the meantime, seemingly turned up wanting a knockout – ideally, by way of one punch – however with no actual want to commerce clear punches or give and take with an opponent whose sole want when coming into the ring was to do exactly that.

As anticipated, then, it turned a curious sight to behold, this assembly of former gymnasium mates. Surprisingly, its concern was not hesitancy on the a part of both man or certainly any form of ceasefire on account of their earlier – apparently shut – relationship. Instead, the key concern, and the primary cause why Billam-Smith ran out a clear winner (by scores of 116-107, 115-108, 112-112), was that one man desperately wished to win the struggle and one man desperately didn’t need to lose it. That, normally a recipe for an unsavoury dish, if not complete catastrophe, then resulted in hundreds of followers strolling away from the Vitality Stadium tonight not fairly whether or not the person determined to win had gained the struggle by advantage of this desperation or the person determined to not lose had, in making an attempt so desperately to not lose, created an unlucky self-fulfilling prophecy; or, in brief, thrown it all away.