Billam-Smith Retains WBO Cruiserweight Title, Hands Riakporhe His First Loss

Chris Billam-Smith made a second successful defense of his WBO Cruiserweight Title, beating  Richard Riakporhe via a unanimous decision.

The fight was a rerun of their 2019 bout, which Riakporhe won by a split decision. Billam-Smith had the better career resume since then, winning ten in a row. That took him to his WBO world title, with a win against his ex-sparring partner Lawrence Okolie. Riakporhe had all the pressure, fighting in front of his home fans at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park football stadium. But it was Billam-Smith who was the better fighter, outworking his opponent and living up to his pre-fight comments.

Pre-Fight Comments

“I’ll rip the script up again. That’s how it feels. That’s how this whole fight feels. It feels like the Lawrence fight, in terms of he’s getting bigged up in terms of being the favourite or what not. I’ve come up against punch power and his punch power before and there’s a lot more to boxing than just punch power, especially in a 12-round fight. How he deals with my pace and intensity will be an interesting factor and that will definitely tire him out. We’ll have to wait and see. That’s always the game plan, to put on a good performance and get the stoppage. Sometimes it comes, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m feeling very confident,” Chris Billam-Smith stated

Billam-Smith Starts Well

Billam-Smith was fighting on the front foot, attempting to push Riakporhe on the ropes. Riakporhe, however, found success with his jab, popping Billam-Smith’s head back. Once the champion settled in the second round, he began to increase the pace, working Riakporhe’s body.

In the third, Riakporhe showed the first signs of frustration, getting a warning for using his head. His jab was no longer in use, as Billam-Smith landed crisp shits to the body with some potent right hands. Billam-Smith’s ability to change the levels and his head movement kept the challenger guessing. However, Riakporhe’s jab still showed signs of success, with Billam-Smith’s nose bleeding at the end of the fourth.

Riakporhe needed to switch the tempo heading into the second half of the fight. So far, the challenger was reacting rather than forcing the pace. Riakporhe took more risks but almost paid for it in the eighth. A left hook buzzed Riakporhe, who for one moment looked dazed.

Riakporhe Responds

However, Riakporhe responded with a big ninth round. An overhand right hit Billam-Smith flush on the chin as the champion’s mouthpiece flew out. And yet, that was followed by a low blow, forcing the referee to call time as the mouthpiece went back in. Riakporhe continued to press the action, rocking the champion with a left hook in the same round. Somehow, Billam-Smith stayed up via the ropes.

Riakporhe had to get a stoppage, which never came. His performance was summed up in the final round, as he was docked a point for leaning with his head. Billam-Smith took the win on the scorecards as follows: 116-111, 115-112, and 115-112. The scorecards did not reflect the manner in which Billam-Smith subdued the home crowd with his performance.

Comments

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.