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Chris Billam-Smith is set for the first defense of his newly acquired WBO cruiserweight title when he squares off with Mateusz Masternak this Sunday. After eight consecutive wins, the ‘Gentleman’ fought for the title against his former gym mate Lawrence Okolie, who he defeated via majority decision this past May. Though an immediate rematch was considered — Okolie activated his rematch clause in June — nothing was finalized, so Billam-Smith moved on to his next challenger in Masternak.
For Billam-Smith, the powerful Pole is the perfect person to challenge him in his first defense.
“A really difficult fight. I think stylistically probably one of my hardest fights to date because he does everything really, really well,” said Billam-Smith in an interview with Anson Wainwright of The Ring. “He’s got good feet, always changing his distance, always moving his hands and his head. He doesn’t just sit in front of you and tuck up. (He has) decent punching power, brilliant chin and good variation in his shots, puts his shots together really well.
“He doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. He’s not vulnerable at all,” continued Billam-Smith. “He’s only been beaten by very top tier opposition. You have to be on it to beat him, you have to really put on a good performance to beat him and that’s what everyone’s had to do to do well against him. It’s a difficult night for sure.”
Masternak has not fought in more than a year, with his most recent in-ring appearance coming against Jason Whateley. The ‘Master’ defeated Whateley via unanimous decision.
Chris Billam-Smith vs. Mateusz Masternak full fight card
Main card
- – Chris Billam-Smith (18-1) 🏴 vs. Mateusz Masternak (47-5) 🇵🇱; cruiserweight
- – Lauren Price (5-0) 🏴 vs. Silvia Bortot (11-3-1) 🇮🇹; welterweight
- – Ben Whittaker (4-0) 🏴 vs. Stiven Leonetti Dredhaj (11-2-1) 🇮🇹; light heavyweight
- – Michael McKinson (25-1) 🏴 vs. TBA; welterweight
- – Lewis Edmondson (7-0) 🏴 vs. Dmytro Fedas (8-4-2) 🇺🇦; light heavyweight
- – Lee Cutler (13-1) 🏴 vs. Obi Egbunike (8-2-1) 🏴; super welterweight
- – Francesca Hennessy (1-0) 🏴 vs. TBA; bantamweight
Start time and date
Chris Billam-Smith vs. Mateusz Masternak goes down on Sun., Dec. 10, live from the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England. The main card starts at 3 p.m. ET | 12 p.m. PT.
Ringwalks for Billam-Smith vs. Masternak are expected around 6 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. PT.
Tickets
Sorry! Tickets for Chris Billam-Smith vs. Mateusz Masternak have sold out.
Live streams
For US viewers, Chris Billam-Smith vs. Mateusz Masternak streams exclusively on Peacock. For UK and Ireland viewers, tune into the fight on Sky Sports.