Cheavon Clarke stuns Chris Billam-Smith with sensational seventh-round stoppage

Cheavon Clarke scored a sensational seventh-round stoppage of Chris Billam-Smith to announce himself as a cruiserweight contender on the world stage.

Clarke twice defeated Billam-Smith in the amateur ranks, including in the 2016 national championship final, before going on to represent Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics. Billam-Smith, however, had enjoyed greater success as a professional, winning the WBO cruiserweight title.

But Clarke showed his class again in London on Saturday.

“Chris hasn’t changed,” he said afterwards. “He still doesn’t know how to use his feet.

“He’s a strong guy, he’s bigger than me. But no one has ever bullied me.”

Billam-Smith tried to, regardless. It may have been his downfall.

Neither really took control in the early going. It was messy, scrappy and hard going for both. Clarke scored with good single shots in the first and second rounds, whereas Billam-Smith, plundering forward, hurled power shots to the body.

Billam-Smith, the favorite, could not get to grips with his old amateur tormentor in the third. But he was battling hard to do so. As the bell sounded to end the round, the man from Bournemouth blew out his cheeks in frustration.

Clarke, appearing confident, landed the best punch of the contest to that point with a looping right hand in the fifth. Billam-Smith, still instigating the pace, still unable to gain control, continued to enforce his physical strength.

Billam-Smith started to find his range in the sixth. Hefty blasts to the body were landing. An effort to ramp up the pressure, however, was resisted as Clarke, standing his ground, countered with authority.

The unexpected conclusion came early, and suddenly, in the seventh.

Billam-Smith, still too eager, was caught with a booming right hand. It was a short, sharp shot from Clarke, unseen by his rival. Billam-Smith went down for the first time as a professional. It looked heavy, too.

On the canvas, the former WBO champion managed a smile. But his legs were betraying what appeared to be a clear mind. Regardless, he just about beat the count.

Clarke went all out. Another right hand clattered home. Billam-Smith fell again. Clear of mind but unsteady, he rose, just in time. But the referee, after Clarke again let rip, had seen enough.

Billam-Smith complained. His legs remained jangly, though.

"I'm fine. It was a good shot. He buzzed me, obviously," Said Billam-Smith, 22-3 (14 KOs).

"It was a great shot. I made a mistake, but I felt like I was winning the fight.

"Fair play to Chev. We've had three fights now and he's got them all. I'd love to run it back and get him eventually."

At 36 years old, Clarke may always be the one that got away.

“We take all-comers,” said the winner, now 13-2 (10 KOs). “Bring them. The harder they come the harder they fall.”