Chris Billam-Smith has targeted a WBO interim cruiserweight title fight with Germany’s Roman Fress before the conclusion of 2025.
The sanctioning body has confirmed plans to sanction an interim title fight as a consequence of the WBO and WBA champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez’s inactivity while he recovers from shoulder surgery.
Billam-Smith, 35, sacrificed the WBO title when losing for only the second time, to Mexico’s Ramirez, in November 2024 but returned to the ring in April to outpoint Brandon Glanton.
If a fight between the IBF champion Jai Opetaia and Ramirez has become the most sought-after in the division, Billam-Smith remains determined to fight both, and he told BoxingScene: “It’s a great opportunity for me to fight for the interim title whilst Ramirez is injured. Being highly ranked with the WBO seemed my quickest route back to becoming world champion again, and that’s an exciting prospect for me. Hopefully I can get the Roman Fress fight, because he’s number two, before the end of the year. I’d love that – that’d be amazing.
“If Ramirez remains inactive as well, being interim champion’s a good position to be in. I’d love the rematch with ‘Zurdo’, the only man to beat me that I haven’t beaten since. I obviously got the [Richard] Riakporhe revenge, as such; it’d be great to get that back over Zurdo, and then there’s the Opetaia fight as well, which is a huge fight in the division. That’s a great fight as well.”
Billam-Smith was then asked about his future with Boxxer, who since the end of their agreement with broadcasters Sky Sports have announced another with the BBC that remains the subject of some uncertainty. As recently as Monday his fellow English cruiserweight Viddal Riley posted on social media “free agent season”, suggesting that he has since left Boxxer, but Billam-Smith said: “I’m still in contract with Boxxer. I have been for the last few fights, and they’ve allowed me to box on other shows as well. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with the TV situation and whether that looks like I’ll be on that show. I’m a little bit unsure of what’s next with regards to Boxxer and the BBC, etc.”
Since Billam-Smith’s victory over Glanton, Jake Paul, the social-media influencer turned professional boxer, has earned a world ranking with the WBA as a consequence of an unremarkable victory over the 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, and Billam-Smith revealed he sought assurances from the WBO that Paul wasn’t about to be rewarded similarly by them.
“It’s a business so I understand to a certain extent,” he said. “I spoke with the WBO about it and they don’t have plans to rank him yet; they say he still has to earn his right with the WBO. It would be such a shame if he got a world title shot before, one, myself – selfishly from my point of view – but many other fighters out there who’ve earned their shot at the WBA, after [Paul] outpointed a career middle, super middleweight, who’s way past it, etc.
“That would be a shame. But I also understand it’s a business, and the sanctioning bodies make their money off sanctioning fees, so they’ll get more money, and unfortunately money’s sometimes the determining factor in a lot of these situations.”
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