Results, battle reports and video highlights
Chris Billam-Smith will now head towards world titles after holding on to his belt.
The Bournemouth cruiser champion played at home for the first time, at the Bournemouth International Centre, when he overcame Isaac Chamberlain in a 12-round match, exclusively streamed live on Sky Sports.
Billam-Smith, coached by Shane McGuigan, held the European and Commonwealth Championships starting the fight and he left the arena on Saturday night with the title after all three judges called the competition in his favor with a margin of 117-111.
Chamberlain landed solid stabs in the first round, seemingly gaining the upper hand in the opening exchange as both fighters wanted to assert their dominance.
When Billam-Smith pressed him to the rope, they traded massive punches repeatedly, but the hometown hero was able to stun Chamberlain on the rope and force a gunfight.
It was very tit-for-tat, with ‘IC’ – who had moved to Birmingham to prepare for this battle and had experienced the Jon Pegg fighting figure in his corner – rocking ‘The Gentleman’ with a anti-hard.
After a suffocating opening pair, Chamberlain was picking his shots, but he was forced into a heated fight because Billam-Smith sometimes knocked him down and launched big shots. Billam-Smith got close to the front and dealt a lot of damage.
Chamberlain seemed to recover in the fourth inning, by taking the shot and using distance to better connect. In the fifth season, both rush in and aim for the body in a very close action. Billam-Smith had the advantage, with harder punches, in the sixth half of the close.
The seventh, eighth and ninth rounds were the rounds that saw the champion retreat, but Chamberlain, bleeding profusely from his left eye, regrouped late in the hour, trying his best to find one. big hit to end the tournament.
That’s right, the bell rang and Billam-Smith was the winner.
Watch the final moments below courtesy of Sky Sports Boxing:
Still our breath after last night…
Chris Billam-Smith and Isaac Chamberlain gave us everything and more.@Boxxerpic.twitter.com/IgeGeJOJvc
– Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) July 31, 2022
On the same card, Ben Whittaker created fireworks and a bit of brilliance on his debut when he knocked out Greg O’Neill in the second round of their light-heavyweight bout.
The Sugarhill Steward-trained athlete, who won silver in Tokyo before engaging in a signature battle between all the top promoters, signed a lucrative contract with Boxxer and Sky Sports.
Whittaker did it on his own terms, dodging shots from O’Neil, landing hard on his body and head, winding over his upper keys and then skipping previous answers. when presenting to the crowd.
A sharp forehand hit the side of O’Neill’s head and sent him back in the first half of the second round. O’Neill tried to get ahead but lay down, as Liverpool referee Mark Lyson counted him after 21 seconds of the second.
You can watch all of the featured matches below:
Full highlights as Ben Whittaker shines and sparkles in sensational professional debut ✨
A 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧 is performing?@Boxxerpic.twitter.com/qDbvQPlXGo
– Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) July 31, 2022
Meanwhile, Frazer Clarke Return to the ring with two extra innings of Ariel Esteban Bracamonte.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalist has been out of action since his debut in February after suffering a thumb injury.
Clarke boxed well, keeping Bracamonte at the end of his stab and forcing the Argentinian, who took Jarrell Miller some distance while also facing heavyweight favorite David Allen, to slow down.
Then, after receiving the warning, ‘Big Fraze’ picked up speed and released Bracamonte with a left hook. He got up but referee John Latham called it. Two minutes 57 seconds of the second half is the official time of the match scheduled for six.
And Caroline Dubois used her opponent as a relative target as she made it 3-0 with a third-half goal.
She defeated Happy Daudi of Tanzania in the first round but was unable to knock her out until the third round. She was caught with a left hook and then gave up on Daudi before referee Latham intervened after 46 seconds, while Hassan Azim was forced to stay far behind Jamie Quinn, although it looked like he would finish early. The referee gave him a 59-55 ruling.