Chris Billam-Smith returns to his hometown of Bournemouth to headline Zuffa Boxing’s inaugural UK card against Ryan Rozicki on Saturday.
Billam-Smith battles Rozicki at the Bournemouth International Centre, with the bill live on Sky Sports in the UK and on Paramount+ in the USA.
’The Gentleman’ fights in Bournemouth for the first time since forcing Mateusz Masternak to retire in the eighth round during the first defence of his then-WBO cruiserweight world title.
After revenge over Richard Riakporhe in their rematch, the 35-year-old dropped his belt in a unanimous decision loss to Zurdo Ramirez in a unification in 2024.
Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs) returned to winning ways with a dominant points victory over Brandon Glanton in his last outing last April.
Rozicki (21-1-1, 20 KOs) has only lost once in his 23-fight professional career, outpointed by Oscar Rivas for the WBC bridgerweight crown in 2021.
‘The Bruiser’ previously challenged for the WBC interim cruiserweight title, held to a draw with Yamil Alberto Peralta.
The 31-year-old Canadian returned to winning ways with a second round knockout of Gerardo Mellado in March and heads into Saturday’s showdown as the number one ranked contender with the WBC.
Prediction: Billam-Smith is aiming to secure a future clash with Jai Opetaia and I expect him to survive an early onslaught, before seeing off Rozicki on points.
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Massey meets Clarke
Jack Massey meets Cheavon Clarke in a crossroads clash at cruiserweight.
Massey (23-3, 13 KOs) was knocked out by Opetaia in a bid for the IBF cruiserweight crown in 2024, but got back in the win column with a fourth round stoppage of Ivan Gabriel Garcia in November.
2020 Olympian, Clarke (11-2, 8 KOs) saw his progress curtailed following back-to-back defeats to Leonardo Mosquea and Viddal Riley.
The 35-year-old scored a fourth round knockout of Anthony Hollaway on his return to action in December.
Prediction: This is a close fight to call, but I predict Clarke to emerge victorious via a razor-thin decision.
Remaining Undercard
Bournemouth native, Lee Cutler (15-2, 7 KOs) moves up to middleweight and can get back to winning ways with a points win over Aaron Sutton (19-2, 3 KOs).
Heavyweight Ivan Dychko (15-1, 14 KOs) was beaten by Jermaine Franklin in September, but should bounce back by handing Harvey Dykes (7-0-1) a first loss by stoppage.
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Stephen McKenna (15-1, 14 KOs) hasn’t fought since defeat to Cutler in 2024, but should return with a stoppage victory over Casey James Streeter (15-3-2, 6 KOs) at middleweight.
In a third middleweight clash, Sam Hickey (4-0, 1 KO) can take the undefeated record of Todd Tompkins (4-0) with a points success.
Light heavyweight Leon Hughes (4-0, 3 KOs) and welterweight Alex Macmillan (3-0, 2 KOs) should both secure stoppage victories in their respective bouts.
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