Chris Billam-Smith ended his year with a bang on Saturday night. The former European and Commonwealth cruiserweight champion scored one of 2022’s most eye-catching knockouts against Armend Xhoxhaj at Bournemouth International Centre.
After vacating his regional titles, Billam-Smith has his eyes on world championships. Crushing ranked contender Xhoxhaj will have gone a long way to solidifying his world title pursuit in 2023. The 32-year-old, roared on by his home crowd, overcame some tricky early moments to dismantle the Kosovan.
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In his last fight, ‘The Gentleman’ was pushed all the way by Isaac Chamberlain at the same venue. In the first two rounds, it looked like he could be in for another long night. Xhoxhaj was not overawed by his task, setting about Billam-Smith and landing some hard shots.
The Brit took charge in the third round and never let go. The knockout arrived in the fifth stanza, when a highlight-reel right hook sent Xhoxhaj to the mat. The count was waived as it was clear this was a fight-ender of a punch. With a potential banana-skin out of the way, Billam-Smith can head into 2023 with his title aspirations still intact.
Former world champion Rocky Fielding was stopped in eight rounds by rising star Dan Azeez on the undercard. ‘Super’ rises to 18-0 with 12 knockouts and also took home the vacant Commonwealth light heavyweight strap. Azeez’s British championship was not on the line after Fielding came in a pound over the limit at the weigh-in.
Azeez joined some excellent company in victory. Only Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Callum Smith had stopped the Liverpudlian before Saturday night. ‘Rocky from Stocky’ had won all three of his fights since losing his WBA belt to ‘Canelo’ in 2018. At 35, one wonders what the rebuild will look like for Fielding. But for Azeez, this is a major notch on his belt as he looks to progress towards the world title level at which Rocky once competed.
Caroline Dubois continued her knockout streak on the undercard. The Tokyo 2020 Olympian needed just 60 seconds to dispose of Sofia Rodriguez. The Argentinian came in with a modest 5-7 record, but had never been stopped in her career. The explosive Dubois changed all that, rising to 5-0 with four consecutive knockouts.
Speaking ahead of the fight, Dubois told The Sportsman, “I don't think I really went out there trying to stop people as an amateur. But as a pro, that's what I’ve tried to do. The gloves are smaller, they’re neater and when you hit someone, you can really feel it.” Rodriguez certainly felt it.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
