Chris Billam-Smith: What I’ve done with Boxxer has been film-worthy

Chris Billam-Smith is open to extending his promotional agreement with Boxxer when his current deal expires at the end of the year.

The former WBO cruiserweight titlist has boxed just once in 2025, defeating Brandon Glanton in April at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While the Bournemouth star might have hoped for another big fight, the timing has worked out well.

There’s since been a new addition to the Billam-Smith family and the time has allowed him to be home with his wife, Mia, tending to their son and the newborn.

It was with Boxxer that Billam-Smith, 35, achieved his dream of winning a world title in front of his own fans inside the stadium of Bournemouth AFC, the soccer team he’s always cherished.

Asked about where his promotional future lies, the fighter said: “No I don’t know yet. I’m contracted with Boxxer until the end of the year, but they could easily offer me something in the meantime or even after that period and I could fight with him again. But the relationship I’ve had with Boxxer, if you look at what we’ve done together, it’s been phenomenal. I think it’s stuff that no one could have even written as a film. It is film-worthy stuff. It’s been an amazing story so far with Boxxer. I think we’ve worked really well together. 

“We turned Bournemouth into some form of a boxing town with some crazy fans so that’s been probably my proudest thing that we’ve done together – is that fan base and that love for boxing the South Coast now has in my hometown is amazing. Obviously the stadium fight is gonna be always the pinnacle of my career, nothing will beat that because of the what it meant and the timing of it and everything but yeah, we’ve done some great stuff so we’ll see.” 

With Boxxer, Billam-Smith has also fought at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) and has filled it up each time.

Then, with the promotional company – and Sky Sports – the iconic pier, the Vitality Stadium and several landmarks were used to stage Billam-Smith press conferences and weigh-ins.

Since Billam-Smith last fought, Boxxer and Sky have parted ways and Boxxer now has a relationship with the BBC. 

They could also do with come key fighters staying following the departures of Caroline Dubois (Most Valuable Promotions) and Ben Whittaker (Matchroom Boxing), but Billam-Smith said the idea of Bournemouth and the BBC was appealing.

“I think so,” he said. “I think the BBC should appeal to every British fighter. I think the numbers they do and the viewership they get… what it can do, it can open new doors, it can open your personal brand up, it can do a huge amount of stuff, and I think that’s really important as a boxer regardless of what stage of your career that you’re at. I know Adam Azim’s on there on the 31st of January, so it’s gonna be huge for him and yeah, I think I’d love to fight back home again as well.”
Fighting just once this year, Billam-Smith has been able to fulfil his domestic duties.

“If I get my head fully into boxing mode and think about everything I’m like ‘Yeah, it’s frustrating I only got one fight.’ But then, if I look at life as a whole, I’ve had an amazing year outside the ring. Inside the ring obviously I got the win against Glanton in April which was a very satisfying win and then life as a whole – which is sometimes easy to forget when you’re in the in the boxing world – it’s been really good; had some nice holidays, got a newborn baby now, he’s three months old. 

“A lot of a lot of stuff’s been going on, a lot of growth outside the ring and also the time out the ring has done me good as well. I think I’ve sort of got a new lease of life towards boxing and understand where I’m at and what I need to do, so I’m excited.”

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.