{"id":475423,"date":"2026-03-14T15:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/475423\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T15:16:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:16:11","slug":"chris-billam-smith-says-timing-stopped-opetaia-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/475423\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Billam-Smith Says Timing Stopped Opetaia Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Chris Billam-Smith says the proposed 2024 fight with Jai Opetaia collapsed because of timing, not reluctance.<\/p>\n

Billam-Smith says the long-discussed fight with Jai Opetaia failed to materialise in 2024 because of timing, not reluctance on his side. The former WBO cruiserweight champion pushed back on criticism from Opetaia, who has previously suggested the Briton avoided the matchup.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did try,\u201d Billam-Smith said to Sky Sports. \u201cI said I\u2019d be ready to go in November. He wanted me to fight six weeks after a holiday. I respect him enough to know I need a full camp against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, give me an extra month, and I\u2019ll be ready, he said no. He boxed in October, I boxed \u2018Zurdo\u2019 in November.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, both fighters held world titles, and a unification fight between them had been discussed as one of the most attractive matchups in the cruiserweight division. Instead, their careers moved in different directions.<\/p>\n

Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs) lost his WBO title to Gilberto Ramirez in November 2024 but remains one of the division\u2019s better-known names in Britain. Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) has since strengthened his standing near the top of the division.<\/p>\n

Despite the earlier disagreement, Billam-Smith says a fight with the Australian is still one of the matchups he wants most as he prepares for the next phase of his career following a year out of the ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want the best fights out there,\u201d Billam-Smith said. \u201cThe ones that are going to get me up for making a statement, and you can only make a statement against the biggest names.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Opetaia, \u2018Zurdo,\u2019 Benavidez. They\u2019re the fights we\u2019ll be looking to have in the next one to two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billam-Smith believes getting back in the ring first will help determine where he stands before pursuing those matchups. The British cruiserweight says the break from competition has left him refreshed and eager to return against top opposition.<\/p>\n

Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist who has covered the sport since 2014, providing ringside reporting and technical analysis of major bouts. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments, and the details that shape high-level competition.<\/p>\n

Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb News<\/a> \u00bb Chris Billam-Smith says timing blocked Jai Opetaia fight<\/p>\n

Last Updated on 2026\/03\/14 at 5:08 AM \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Click Here To Watch Live boxing On DAZN tonight! Chris Billam-Smith says the proposed 2024 fight with Jai…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-475423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}