The Beltline: Lawrence Okolie, Chris Billam-Smith, and the cleansing power of performance-enhancing hugs

THE identical day information broke relating to an Amir Khan failed performance-enhancing drug take a look at, two British cruiserweights stood eyeball to eyeball, then considered shaking palms earlier than finally selecting to embrace one another.

Not solely a shocking flip of occasions, the hug shared by former health club mates Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith that April afternoon appeared altogether therapeutic. It was therapeutic for them, on the one hand, for it shattered any of the common stress that happens on the day of a struggle announcement, and it was considerably therapeutic for the relaxation of us too.

Because, frankly, by no means was a excellent news story as welcome as on a day like Tuesday, April 4. Hours after the Khan information had damaged, we looked for solutions and for the mild and, fortunately, in the finish wouldn’t have to attend lengthy, for it arrived that very same day in the type of a compelling all-British WBO cruiserweight title struggle introduced for May 27 in Bournemouth. Better but, there was a storyline to this specific struggle succesful of distracting us from extra urgent and miserable issues, at the least briefly, as effectively a refreshing shock component to it which, relying in your diploma of cynicism, restored your religion in boxing’s means to get its act collectively and make the fights the followers wish to see when such measures are required.

For this, credit score ought to go to the boxers concerned. It is their job, in spite of everything, to make sure fights like this happen and seemingly Okolie and Billam-Smith have been the driving forces behind the determination to basically fast-track a struggle that beforehand appeared destined to finish up happening both later this 12 months and even subsequent 12 months. Why this has occurred is anybody’s guess, however it could be truthful to say that traditionally the cruiserweight division has by no means been awash with alternatives for fighters – financially, that’s – and subsequently tends to lend itself to surprisingly easy offers and sudden (and aggressive) fights.

Between Okolie and Billam-Smith we’ve got a continuation of this pattern. Both little doubt had choices – safer ones, much less dangerous ones – however, equally, each knew their quickest and straightest path to a pot of gold was to collaborate on a date already in the books, with each a venue and tv slot in place. Moreover, to speed up this proactive considering, it was solely three weeks in the past Okolie sleepwalked by a boring 12-rounder in opposition to New Zealand’s David Light, which possible had the impact of each motivating Okolie to get out once more – in opposition to somebody a bit extra threatening – and motivating Billam-Smith to pounce at a time when Okolie is probably nonetheless discovering his toes after a protracted interval of inactivity.

That’s excellent news for followers accustomed to listening to the reason why two fighters can’t instantly struggle somewhat than the reason why they ought to. Clearly, opposite to common perception, a perception pushed by promoters and fighters themselves, a fantastic struggle just isn’t exhausting to make as long as these concerned in the course of of making it actually need it to occur and should not, as tends to be the norm, utilizing the façade of effort both for consideration or to furtively work on a better possibility elsewhere.

Another factor opposite to common perception, and once more that is evident in the case of Okolie and Billam-Smith, is that a fantastic struggle doesn’t want animosity as its gas or promoting level. Here, with Okolie and Billam-Smith, there is no such thing as a such dynamic, nor would one anticipate something like that to develop in the weeks main as much as their struggle at the finish of May. Instead, in place of animosity you don’t have anything however respect between two former sparring companions who, in response to each, had been mates throughout the time they spent collectively at Shane McGuigan’s health club.

Since then, Okolie, 19-0 (14), has left McGuigan and ready for his final struggle alongside the American Sugar Hill. Yet, whereas typically a divorce in boxing could be used for backstory or, in some cases, produce real stress and needle between the related individuals, there is no such thing as a such factor obvious with Okolie and McGuigan and Billam-Smith, 17-1 (12).

In some methods you’ll suppose that may come as a disappointment, too, what with all the potentialities that sort of storyline would provide: bitter cruiserweight champion battles the contender whose coach was the man who as soon as guided the champion to his cruiserweight belt. However, removed from disappointing, the mutual respect proven by Okolie and Billam-Smith when in one another’s firm – no higher exemplified than once they warmly hugged following their press convention – merely proves what we’ve got been saying all alongside: it’s the struggle that issues, not the instruments, nonetheless real or manufactured, promoters and fighters use to promote it.

Some, alas, nonetheless don’t perceive this. They attempt to promote us fights of little or no curiosity and then try to attraction to our thirst for chaos and confrontation by having the two mismatched boxers interact in vulgar shows of pre-fight “beef”. This results in a slew of faux slanging and shoving matches at press conferences, the footage of which then naturally finds its means on to social media and, in flip, makes boxing appear to be a sport run by incompetent idiots, full of nothing however short-tempered, ill-mannered thugs. To a point, that notion is true, of course, however solely boxing would readily current that picture to the world – an already judgemental and sceptical world – in an effort to merely promote a struggle that with out such measures would wrestle to do numbers both at the gate or on pay-per-view.

It’s the final act of sporting self-harm, I suppose. We do it to ourselves and with rising regularity as effectively. As if the frequent failed drug checks and numerous cover-ups weren’t sufficient for the sport, boxing then shoots for the lowest frequent denominator, each in phrases of promoting ways and the audience. They assume its viewers is silly and give them what silly individuals lately need: faux press convention brawls; younger girls with zero boxing means pulling hair and screaming expletives; banter, content material, beef. They do that with all the subtlety of a Carlos Maussa proper hand and solely the ones paying consideration will query it or certainly admire {that a} pre-fight hug is nearly as good as a pre-fight brawl if the struggle to observe is one price making in the first place.