Okolie vs Billam-Smith

Who won Okolie vs Billam-Smith?

Chris Billam-Smith beat Lawrence Okolie by majority decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday 27th May 2023 at Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth.

The scorecards were announced as 112-112, 107-116, 108-115 in favor of winner Chris Billam-Smith.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Cruiserweight division, which meant the weight limit was 200 pounds (14.3 stone or 90.7 KG).

This contest was for the WBO cruiserweight championship of the world.

The undercard featured the clash of Eggington vs Pigford.

Okolie vs Billam-Smith stats

Lawrence Okolie stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 19 wins, zero loses and 0 draws, 14 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Chris Billam-Smith made his way to the ring with a record of 17 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, with 12 of those wins by knock out.

The stats suggested Okolie had a slight advantage in power over Billam Smith, with a 74% knock out percentage over Billam Smith's 71%.

Lawrence Okolie was the younger man by 2 years, at 30 years old.

Okolie had a height advantage of 2 inches over Billam Smith. That also extended to a 8-inch reach advantage.

Both Lawrence Okolie & Chris Billam-Smith fought out of an orthodox stance.

Okolie's experience as a professional fighter was relatively equal to Billam Smith's, having had 1 more fights, and made his debut in 2017, 5 months earlier than Billam Smith, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He had fought 12 less professional rounds, 108 to Billam Smith's 120.

Chris Billam-Smith was ranked number 2 by the WBA and 1 by the WBO in the 200lb division.

Okolie vs Billam-Smith form

Okolie had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated David Light on 25th March 2023 by unanimous decision in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at AO Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had defeated Michal Cieslak on 27th February 2022 by unanimous decision in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at The O2 Arena, London.

Going into that contest, he had beat Dilan Prasovic on 25th September 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London.

Before that, he had won against Krzysztof Glowacki on 20th March 2021 by knockout in the 6th round in their WBO World Cruiserweight championship fight at Wembley (SSE) Arena, London.

He had beat Nikodem Jezewski on 12th December 2020 by technical knockout in the 2nd round at Wembley Arena, London.

Billam Smith had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 2 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Armend Xhoxhaj on 17th December 2022 by technical knockout in the 5th round at Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth, United Kingdom.

Previous to that, he had defeated Isaac Chamberlain on 30th July 2022 by unanimous decision in their CBC Commonwealth Cruiserweight championship fight at Bournemouth International Centre, Dorset.

Going into that contest, he had won against Tommy McCarthy on 16th April 2022 by knockout in the 8th round at Manchester Arena, Manchester.

Before that, he had defeated Dylan Bregeon on 13th November 2021 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Sheffield Arena, Yorkshire.

He had beat Tommy McCarthy on 31st July 2021 by split decision in their CBC Commonwealth Cruiserweight and BBBOC British Cruiserweight championship fight at Matchroom Fight Camp, Essex.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Chris Billam-Smith had been fighting more than Lawrence Okolie.

Going to this contest, Lawrence Okolie had last fought 2 months and 2 days ago, while Chris Billam-Smith's last outing had been 5 months and 10 days ago.

Okolie's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 5 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 35 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7 rounds on average.

Billam Smith's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 9 months and 26 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 49 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9.8 rounds on average.

What time did Okolie vs Billam-Smith start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 PM BST at Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, United Kingdom, which was 5:00 PM EST or 2:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America.

Who broadcast Okolie vs Billam-Smith?

The FITE+ US show is expected to begin at 12:00 PM EST / 9:00 AM PST. The Sky Sports Action broadcast of the card is expected to start at 7:00 PM (BTS).

What were the odds on Okolie vs Billam-Smith?

Lawrence Okolie was a 1/4 (-400) favourite going into the contest, while Chris Billam-Smith made his way into the ring at 3/1 (+300) with oddsmakers.