World Champion: The dream of Chris Billam-Smith did come true. He defeated Lawrence Okolie to win the WBO cruiserweight world championship in front of 15,000 spectators in the open-air stadium in Bournemouth.
But when he became ill the week before the fight, the dream may have turned into a nightmare.
He not only made it to the ring for the fight, but he also won his hometown by surviving a brutal 12-round fight.
It all came down to tenacity.
“I felt quite bad. I have a bug. I tried to get rid of it by fasting for 24 hours. After that, I ate a little amount, and this continued till Thursday. Gaining weight was simple. It was unpleasant. I had very little energy. When I regained weight, I didn’t do so nearly as quickly as I usually would,” according to Billam-Smith.
Nothing, however, was going to stop him. “No way am I going to let 15,000 people down. I was about to enter that ring,” he declared. “I was never going to disappoint those fans.
“I was in tears as I walked the ring. It was difficult to control,” he added.
“I believe that ringwalking initially likely aided that. I reasoned that you should utilise a small amount of that as fuel. They have always been amazing, and they are.”
He became much more passionate after raising his hand in triumph.
“I simply found it hard to believe. Being the world champion still doesn’t feel real,” according to Billam-Smith. “As a team at the gym, we have experienced a lot together.
“I found it hard to believe. That sensation is indescribable in words. There are probably persons who have won a world title who are unable to adequately express how they felt. It requires so much effort.
“I’ve spent many weeks away from my son. That is only a portion of it.
“This week I’ve been sick. That adds another element. That is a lot of difficulty to overcome. All of that culminates in emotion when you succeed.”
When he dedicated the win to his mother, he had to fight back tears.
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