Chris Billam-Smith Claims Crowd-pleasing UD Over Isaac Chamberlain!
On July 30, cruiserweights Chris “The Gentleman” Billam-Smith (16-1, 11 KO’s) and Isaac “IC” Chamberlain (14-2 8 KO’s) went to war under the hot lights of the Bournemouth International Centre. Victory was essential for the two competitors to keep their dreams of capturing a full world title alive. Billam-Smith was already in possession of the secondary Commonwealth Boxing Council cruiserweight title and was fresh off a victory over Tommy McCarthy.
The McCarthy match was actually a rematch of their original July 31, 2021 dustup. The Gentleman would win first by split decision and then later by way of eighth round knockout. Likewise, Chamberlain entered the match riding a five-fight win streak after suffering his sole professional defeat at the hands of Lawrence Okolie back on February 3, 2018. Since that setback, IC has stopped all but one of his opponents within the distance. Naturally, now ranked #8 (IBF), Chamberlain sought to add Billam-Smith to his growing ledger of victims on his quest to become a champion.
A FIGHT OF TWO HALFS
The Gentleman opened the match attempting to steamroll Chamberlain by taking the fight straight to him and smothering his punching range. This resulted in a high-volume, phonebooth rumble that saw Chamberlain’s back pressed to the ropes for large chunks of the round. Toward the second half of the round, IC was countering off the ropes well.
During the second period, Chamberlain fought with the distance that he seemed to want but was quickly buzzed by The Gentleman and left leaning on the ring straps. Then, in a very entertaining see-saw round, they would go on to rattle one another several times before the conclusion of the period. Billam-Smith would comfortably control the third. The ebb-and-flow, close nature of the fight persisted over the next several rounds as neither could maintain realistic control. About the seventh round, The Gentleman had finally established himself as the ring general.
STOMPING ON HOME PLATE
With about thirty seconds to go in the tenth, Billam-Smith really began hammering IC in the corner. It appeared he was lucky to hear the bell. To his credit, Chamberlain not only survived the tenth, he made it past that eleventh. He had to get lightly mauled and slapped around to do it, but he made it. Despite presumably being strategically up on the cards, The Gentleman came out in the twelfth still searching for the stoppage.
Due to Chamberlain’s grit and unwillingness to quit, the fight ended with the two going toe-to-toe to the crowd’s delight until the final bell. Predictably, when the cards were read, Billam-Smith prevailed by way of unanimous decision to the tune of 117-111 (three times). In his post-fight interview, The Gentleman vowed to win a world title but didn’t speak on any particular target. His chief second however, Shane McGuigan, did say that WBC cruiserweight Ilunga Makabu would be an ideal first strike.
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By: Bakari Simpson
