When Chris Billam-Smith watched his friend box at college he was blown away by the atmosphere around the ring.
“Everyone was chanting his name,” the cruiserweight champion told BBC Radio Solent.
“It was electric and I thought to myself – I want to experience what that feels like.”
After 16 fights, 15 wins and 11 knockouts, the 31-year-old now knows what it’s like to be surrounded by cheering fans when he’s in the ring.
But what the British, European and Commonwealth cruiserweight champion is about to experience in his homecoming fight with fellow Brit Isaac Chamberlain in Bournemouth on Saturday will no doubt be on another level altogether.
“When Billam-Smith has fought in Bournemouth before, it’s been in front of eight people and a dog,” says boxing expert Steve Bunce, who hosts the BBC Radio 5 Live boxing podcast.
“There was no pressure on him in those smaller fights early in his career. Now he’s in a totally different situation where he is the star of the show.”
‘I’ll be fighting where I used to get into mosh pits’
For Billam-Smith, a big headline fight in his hometown Bournemouth has been a bit of an obsession. To say he’s wanted it for ages would be an understatement.
“I never cared who the opponent was going to be, I just wanted a hometown fight. For me, it means everything and it will be great for the town,” he said.
Known as ‘The Gentleman’, Billam-Smith was born in Epsom but his family moved to Bournemouth when he was three. It’s where he grew up and the seaside resort is the place he calls home.
“All my memories are here, I played football at Littledown and my first gig was at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) watching the Arctic Monkeys in 2006 – I even queued outside overnight for Oasis tickets.
“To be headlining a venue which has played such a big part in my life is crazy.
“The ring will be in the middle of the hall, so I’ll probably be fighting in the same spot where I used to dance and get into mosh pits; it will be surreal.”
‘Hometown fights can backfire’
Boxing is one of those sports where fighting at home, especially on a big stage underneath the bright lights and before hyped crowds, can be rare and elusive. But it doesn’t stop fighters from moving heaven and earth to try to make it happen.
Billam-Smith left Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing so he could join the rival promotion company Boxxer to make his homecoming dream a reality, with his European and Commonwealth titles on the line. A victory could expand his fanbase beyond the sport’s die-hard fans and into the hearts of the Bournemouth community. A risk, but something money can’t buy.
While some home fights have given boxers memories that will last a lifetime, others have been dealt embarrassing blows in front of adoring crowds that have only led to nightmares and regret – as Bunce explains.
“Joe Calzaghe, outdoors at the Millennium Stadium, 50,000 fans against Mikkel Kessler back in 2007. Calzaghe needed that crowd, those thousands of Welshmen to get him across the line – it was the ultimate homecoming.
“It was the same for Ricky Hatton two years earlier when he beat Kostya Tszyhu to win the world title – 21,000 of us were locked inside the Manchester Evening News Arena. The fight was at 2am to accommodate the American audience and they locked the doors at 11.30pm, but they never closed the bars – I’ve never known an atmosphere like it.
“But a hometown fight can backfire. Five years ago, Kell Brook lost his IBF welterweight title to the American Eroll Spence in front of 32,000 fans at Bramall Lane in his beloved hometown of Sheffield. He was under a lot of pressure to perform at home – he lost every second of that fight.”
Four thousand fans are expected to be packed inside Windsor Hall at the BIC when Billam-Smith does his ring walk. Family and friends will be among the masses of local fans cheering The Gentleman on – but he isn’t worried about any extra pressure.
“I love the pressure. Billy Jean King once said ‘pressure is a privilege’ and I believe that. Since the fight was announced, my phone has been going crazy. I look forward to putting on a show – it’s going to be a bear pit.”
‘An iconic and legendary character’
Bournemouth is best known for its beaches, sunshine and sandcastles. The town’s connection with boxing doesn’t run deep, despite being home to the fearless world light-heavyweight champion Freddie Mills, who fought in the 1940s and 50s.
“He’s an iconic and legendary character who traded on heart, guts, strength, desire and an iron jaw. He put Bournemouth on the boxing map,” Bunce said.
“Fearless Freddie embodied all that is great about historic British fighters. It’s just unfortunate it’s taken over 60 years for another guy [Billam-Smith] to come along and take the mantle.”
There’s a blue plaque memorial to Mills on the site of his old school in Bournemouth but for Billam-Smith’s name to surf on the waves of Bournemouth beach for years to come, he’ll need to put away a very dangerous Chamberlain.
“This is a real hometown fight and it’s genuinely a 50-50 match up. I get a feeling that whatever happens, it’s something that people from Bournemouth and nearby won’t forget for a long time.”
You can listen to build-up of the Chris Billam-Smith vs Isaac Chamberlain fight on BBC Radio Solent from 8pm on Saturday night on all frequencies. You can hear full fight commentary in a joint BBC Radio Solent and BBC 5 Sports Extra broadcast via BBC Sounds.
