The mum of the new WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith said she had her eyes closed a lot of the time but it was amazing.

He knocked his opponent down three times and Okolie had two points deducted for excessive brawling.

“I can’t speak – I am so proud,” his mum Carol told BBC South Today.

“I don’t think I can put into words how much this means to him. It has been his dream.”

In the ring after the fight Billam-Smith, who is from Bournemouth, dedicated his title win to his mum who has breast cancer.

Speaking backstage his dad Alan said his son’s hard work had paid off.

“It’s everything he’s worked for, it was his dream, and he has made it come true with the McGuigan’s [Billam-Smith’s coaching team] who have done an amazing job with him.

“We are so proud of them as well as Chris. It’s still sinking in.”

‘You could feel the energy’

Billam-Smith has been under the tutelage of Shane McGuigan – son of the former featherweight world champion Barry McGuigan – since turning professional in 2017.

Already a British, Commonwealth and European champion Billam-Smith’s maiden world title win improves his fight record to 18 wins and just one loss.

The defeat came against the former WBA cruiserweight champion Richard Riakporhe in 2019 and the Londoner is expected to be one of the first in line to challenge the new champion.

Shane McGuigan said Billam-Smith, ‘The Gentleman’, was clearly the best fighter on the night.

“Chris dethroning one of the most awkward world champions in front of 15,000 people is unbelievable,” he told BBC Radio Solent.

“We know that when he [Okolie] gets in the ring he panics a little bit and Chris found that shot, the left-hook, in the fourth round and I think that swayed the fight pretty quickly.

“It made the judges realise that Chris was hurting him on the inside and on the way out.

“He was ill with a stomach bug all week leading up to the fight.

“In an ideal world we would have tried to push the fight back but we stuck it out and his will to win is huge.

“Every time he let his hands go you could feel the energy – it was amazing.”

• Chris Billam-Smith on facing Lawrence Okolie at AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, listen here.
• Boxxer ring announcer MC ‘Big ‘Mo’ previews the Billam-Smith v Okolie bout, listen here.
• How Premier League side AFC Bournemouth prepared for a historic night of boxing at the Vitality Stadium, listen l here.