Chris Billam-Smith once took his son Frank to Saturday soccer; this Saturday, the former WBO cruiserweight champion steps onto Tottenham Hotspur’s centre circle instead, opening the Eubank Jr.–Benn under-card against American puncher Brandon Glanton. The Bournemouth favourite lost his belt to Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez last October but says the defeat sharpened, not dulled, his ambition. “I’m still the fighter who beat Lawrence Okolie - I’ve just got to add to that version,” Billam-Smith told Boxing News during camp in London.
At 34, “The Gentleman” now juggles title dreams with toddler routines and a second child due in August. Training under Shane McGuigan means weeks away from home, a sacrifice he accepts for future security. “The highlight of my week is babycino-and-cookie time before Frank’s football,” he said, adding he plans to leave the stadium as soon as his bout ends - “I’d rather be on the motorway home than ringside once my job’s done.”
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Glanton offers no soft route back. Ranked No. 5 by the WBC, the Atlanta slugger has knocked out three straight since a disputed loss to David Light and knows victory over the WBC No. 4 vaults him into next week’s Badou Jack-Noel Mikaeljan title picture. McGuigan’s game-plan focuses on angles and discipline: “You won’t be in the spot Glanton lands that overhand right,” the coach assured his fighter in tape study.
Billam-Smith insists retirement never crossed his mind. “I’ve got untapped potential left,” he said, citing gym data, resting heart-rate in the mid-40s, sparring sharpness, as proof. A win positions him for the Jack-Mikaeljan winner later this year, while Jai Opetaia and Ramírez chase unification. But the bigger victory arrives Sunday morning if Dad can deliver Frank’s cookie in person. As Billam-Smith put it, “The fire’s still there, but now it burns for my family.”
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