{"id":602945,"date":"2026-04-14T07:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602945\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T07:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T07:31:10","slug":"chris-billam-smith-signs-with-zuffa-could-be-next-for-opetaia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602945\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Billam-Smith signs with Zuffa, could be next for Opetaia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Zuffa Boxing may have secured their first really notable fight, signing former cruiserweight titleholder Chris Billam-Smith, which could potentially set up a bout with the top man in the division, Jai Opetaia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The 35-year-old Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KO) remains a top contender in the division, and a fight between Opetaia and Billam-Smith could help to add a little legitimacy to that belt in the eyes of many fans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">\u201cThis move is about proving I am the best in the world. I can\u2019t wait to get back in the ring, headlining shows,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/boxing\/news\/12183\/13531089\/chris-billam-smith-signs-with-zuffa-boxing-and-will-fight-on-sky-sports-this-is-about-proving-i-am-the-best-in-the-world\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Billam-Smith told Sky Sports<\/a>. \u201cI want the best fights out there. The ones that are going to get me up for making a statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Billam-Smith is said to have signed a \u201cmulti-fight\u201d contract with Zuffa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Bournemouth man last fought in April 2025, also beating Brandon Glanton by decision, which followed his losing the WBO title to Gilberto \u201cZurdo\u201d Ramirez in a good, tough fight in November 2024 in Riyadh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Billam-Smith, a fan favorite in the UK and someone who has truly earned his \u201cGentleman\u201d nickname, as well as his reputation for action-packed fights, began a breakout run in 2021 when he beat Tommy McCarthy to win the European, British, and Commonwealth titles. He took the WBO title from Lawrence Okolie in 2023, and had a really strong run in the division with wins over Mateusz Masternak and Richard Riakporhe in WBO title defenses, before losing to Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Opetaia would definitely be the favorite against Billam-Smith, but CBS has always had a knack for hanging tough in fights, with a good chin and a great gas tank.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">We\u2019ll see if Billam-Smith, having been inactive for a year, will take something of a rust-shaker or tune-up, or if Zuffa plan to go straight into an Opetaia fight this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zuffa Boxing may have secured their first really notable fight, signing former cruiserweight titleholder Chris Billam-Smith, which could&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,711,49,48,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-602945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-boxing-news","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}