“This is my hardest fight to date,” says Chris Billam-Smith ahead of Sunday’s fight against Mateusz Masternak

By Chris Billam-Smith

MOST individuals are anticipating me to simply flip up on Sunday evening and win.

Luckily, I don’t pay attention to most individuals. I pay attention to about 4 individuals’s opinions in boxing and they’re the one people who matter – perhaps 5 when you embrace my personal.

For me, Mateusz Masternak is my hardest fight to date stylistically. He’s so, so powerful. I can’t be giving him a couple of rounds and hoping he tires out as a result of he doesn’t tire out. You can’t plan to chip away and break him down late on as a result of that’s not what occurs.

This is just like the Isaac Chamberlain fight however a greater and extra constant model. His fuel tank is good, he places his photographs collectively properly, he can punch and he’s one of essentially the most sturdy males within the division. The event doesn’t actually matter as a result of I’m seeing this as my hardest fight to date.

This is the primary of a brand new three-fight cope with Boxxer and clearly it’s all primarily based on me profitable. Lawrence Okolie will need the rematch, I do know what he’s like. It was the identical when he misplaced to Erislandy Savon within the amateurs, he needed to get again in there and be taught from it and he can be precisely the identical now. But as with Savon, when he misplaced the primary and second time, this would be the identical – I’ll beat him once more.

I like Lawrence and I do want him properly however from a enterprise perspective, and boxing is an leisure enterprise, it’s a tough promote.

I watched the fight again a couple of days after it occurred when my little man awoke at foolish o’clock within the morning. I believed ‘this is a hard watch’. The extra I watch it, the extra I see issues I can do higher or issues I did properly. I feel I managed the rounds properly in phrases of urgent once I wanted to or conserving power once I wanted to. It was a irritating fight to watch again at occasions.

I believed the ref did job and I’m so glad he didn’t chuck Lawrence out as a result of that might be no approach to win a world title. To get that feeling on the finish was every thing. The suspense builds after which I get the euphoric second like I had.

Winning one other world title can be wonderful however I don’t suppose it could actually high what occurred. It was so deep that evening. From me sitting there as a season ticket holder, 12 years outdated. Then I’m stood in entrance of the followers and they’re chanting my title. Even simply the date, George Groves, my favorite fighter, gained his world title at a soccer stadium on May 22, which is precisely the identical as me.

Life is altering a little bit bit since that evening. I learn one thing that there’s at all times delay, that when you obtain one thing there’s a 12 months delay on it. People see you as one thing else now however you’re nonetheless the identical particular person. You solely perceive that after the delay.

More individuals discover me round Bournemouth and stuff, doing the weekend store. It’s not mad however I might need my son Frank within the trolley and I’m simply making an attempt to cease him throwing all of the stuff out onto the ground and somebody is asking me concerning the final fight they had been at. It’s good and I’m at all times grateful but it surely’s new for me. Nothing has actually modified, I nonetheless have to change nappies and do every thing else.

Lots of individuals have been asking me about my mum too. Of course, we discovered throughout camp final time that she had most cancers however she was simply so constructive from the off. It wasn’t something I had to cope with within the camp as a result of my mum is so sturdy. When she advised me there have been no tears or something. I used to be a little bit bit emotional when she advised me however after that I didn’t once more. She mentioned ‘look, this is where we are at, this is what’s going to occur, I’m going to have this surgical procedure and all can be tremendous’. Thankfully that’s occurred.

I have to get my calmness from her and the psychological energy too as a result of she’s only a warrior. I’ll be channelling all of that once more come Saturday evening.