Lawrence Okolie vs Chris Billam-Smith: ‘I’m going to devastate him,’ warns WBO cruiserweight champion | Boxing News
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Lawrence Okolie intends to serve a reminder of his fearsome punching power against Chris Billam-Smith on Saturday.
Okolie puts his WBO cruiserweight title on the line against Billam-Smith, an ex-sparring partner turned rival, at the Vitality stadium in Bournemouth, live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Showcase.
Kept out of the ring for almost a year, he shook off ring rust over 12 rounds against mandatory challenger David Light in March.
His bout prior to that was a victory over marauding Pole Michal Cieslak, who only last month hammered Dylan Bregeon, a Frenchman who went 12 rounds with Billam-Smith, to win the European title.
“That guy’s a monster,” Okolie said of Cieslak. “Strong as hell.
“What he would do to someone else who’s not on my level. He stopped someone who Chris went the distance with.
“He’s the first person that I clinched and said, ‘No, today’s not going to be my day to maul him.’
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“I’m hoping that he’s a harder fight than Chris.”
It means that Okolie hasn’t won by knockout since manhandling Dilan Prasovic in 2021.
But he intends to showcase the kind of heavy-handed hitting that saw him stop European, Commonwealth and former world champions in a spree of seven consecutive knockout victories that carried him from the British championship to his WBO crown.
Okolie is a big cruiserweight, six foot five inches tall, who punches with authority. He is adamant that he will find openings for those shots as Billam-Smith looks to press him.
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Lawrence Okolie discusses the dynamic in the gym of former trainer Shane McGuigan, as he reveals opponent Chris Billam-Smith was always McGuigan’s favourite
“The way Chris fights, he’s always all action. He comes to throw a lot of punches, put a lot of pressure on where he’s the home fighter, he’s going to have 15,000 people screaming for him, hoping that he can dethrone me,” Okolie told Sky Sports News.
“So I’m going to have to be devastating and he’s going to make it very easy for me.”
Okolie feels he is doing the right things to recapture his best form.
“It’s always good to keep active,” Okolie said. “Momentum’s a massive thing in boxing.
“I had a long time out the ring, managed to get in, get 12 rounds, shake off a lot of ringrust and get back into training camp. So very soon after I get another opportunity to push myself.”
Nor does it worry him that, after all the rounds of sparring they’ve shared, Billam-Smith might know his style too well.
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Highlights of Lawrence Okolie against David Light as the Brit retained his WBO world cruiserweight title in Manchester
“It’s only tough if you’re expecting one thing and something else comes,” he said.
“So I’ve detached myself from the sparring, detached myself from everything that I’ve known of him and I just expect a brutal, devastating, fit, fast, strong Chris Billam-Smith and it’s up to me to be the best version of myself and dominate.”
There’s no doubt Billam-Smith will be highly motivated. This is the world title chance he’s longed for, taking place at the football stadium of the team he supports, in his home town. Billam-Smith will fight as furiously as he ever has before.
But Okolie warned: “I’ve got my own ambitions, my own stuff, unifications, moving up to heavyweight.
“I’ve got someone here who wants to take that away from me and fulfil his own dreams.
“But unfortunately none of his dreams are going to be built on my nightmares.
“I’m going to devastate him.”
Don’t miss Lawrence Okolie vs Chris Billam-Smith live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Showcase from 7pm on Saturday night.
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