FOR the first time in his professional career, former world champion Chris Billam-Smith was confronted with a largely sobering setback last November
Of course, ‘The Gentleman’ found himself on the wrong end of a razor-thin split decision against Richard Riakporhe back in 2019.
The nature of that defeat, however, proved easy enough to bounce back from, as Billam-Smith, 20-2 (13 KOs), amassed an unbeaten run – while also exacting his revenge on Riakporhe – before stepping through the ropes with Gilberto Ramirez.
When the pair collided last November, the 34-year-old demonstrated every degree of his doggedness and natural strength of character, hoping to retain his WBO title.
But in the end, it was the crafty footwork and relentless output of Ramirez that proved too forceful – at least, on that particular night – for the Brit.
So now, more than the injuries he suffered from his unanimous decision defeat, Billam-Smith has been compelled to address his mental wounds.
Naturally, a setback in any fighter’s career, no matter their psychological robustness, is difficult to respond to, not least regarding the confidence issues that can arrive soon after.
But that is something which Shane McGuigan, Billam-Smith’s long-term head coach, has been mindful of throughout their training camp for this Saturday.
Appearing on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn, Billam-Smith will lock horns with American cruiserweight contender Brandon Glanton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.
And only then, as far as McGuigan is concerned, will the Bournemouth man fully rediscover his confidence.
“You can’t go through the motions, like you might’ve done in previous camps, and expect that momentum to be the same,” McGuigan told Boxing News.
“Everything was on this forward trajectory, so you didn’t have to reassure [Billam-Smith] of his confidence because he was getting the results.
“This is the first setback of his career since [the Riakporhe defeat] – he felt he won that fight, whereas he didn’t feel like he won against Ramirez.
“We can instil as much confidence and belief in him [as we want], but he’s going to get the confidence on Saturday.”
With Glanton, 20-2 (17 KOs), the one attribute that sticks out more than any other, even after taking just a brief glance at his resume, is knockout power.
But like with anything else, McGuigan has seemingly devised a plan to keep Billam-Smith out of harm’s way.
“You either get the f*** out the way, or you nullify it,” he added. “You can either shorten up [the range] or double the distance.
“Chris has never really struggled with power; he’s struggled with switching off. Glanton finishes fights strong – he dropped David Light in the 10th round and stopped [Aleksei] Egorov in the 11th round – so it’s about not switching off.”
Watch Eubank Jr vs Benn on Saturday 26th April live on DAZN, the global home of boxing with over 185+ fights per year.
