Chris Billam-Smith will make the first defence of his WBO cruiserweight world title against Mateusz Masternak on Sunday December 10 in Bournemouth, live on Sky Sports.
Power-punching Pole Masternak is highly experienced with a 47-5 (31) record and has long been pressing for his world title shot. Currently ranked No 5 with the WBO, Masternak will challenge Billam-Smith at the Bournemouth International Centre, headlining a big BOXXER bill.
Returning to the UK for the first time since his 2015 European championship war with Tony Bellew, Masternak is riding a six-fight win streak into the bout.
- Caroline Dubois: My sporting idols inside and outside the ring
- Karriss Artingstall: 'I'm not a step behind Raven Chapman or Skye Nicolson'
- Stream the best boxing and more with NOW
Three of those wins have come by knockout, one of them a fourth-round stoppage of Albania's Armend Xhoxhaj, who went five exciting rounds with Billam-Smith last year.
Having sold out the BIC on two previous occasions, December will mark Billam-Smith's third time headlining Bournemouth's largest indoor arena. It will be his first contest since May, when he beat Lawrence Okolie in front of a capacity crowd at the Vitality Stadium.
Trending
- Man Utd latest: Fernandes explains why Garnacho didn't celebrate goal
- Ref Watch as it happened - Villa denied pens at Liverpool?
- Transfer Centre LIVE! 'Man Utd send enquiry for Chelsea's Nkunku'
- Liverpool latest: 'Alexander-Arnold avoids serious hamstring damage'
- Fernandes conundrum for Amorim at Man Utd?
- Arteta laments injury 'nightmare' | Merse: 12-point deficit will end title bid
- Papers: Borussia Dortmund want Sunderland star Jobe Bellingham
- EFL latest: 'Coventry closing in on Lampard as next boss'
- The tale of two Lukes: Agony and ecstasy for Humphries and Littler at Grand Slam
- Premier League hits & misses: Odegaard gives Arsenal title hope
Ahead of his maiden world title defence, Billam-Smith has committed his future to BOXXER by signing a new extended deal with the next-gen promoter, which includes a commitment to rematch Lawrence Okolie in a repeat of their sold-out stadium fight.
That event was the biggest boxing event in south coast history and Billam-Smith's return to action in December will be a triumphant year-end homecoming.
Grateful for the years of loyal support, the champion requested the Sunday slot in order to allow travelling Bournemouth AFC fans to return from Saturday's away game.
"Mateusz Masternak is a superb fighter, he's proved that throughout his career. He's got double the amount of fights that I have - he's actually got more KO wins than I have fights - and his only losses are at the very top level. His style matches well with mine and I think it's going to be a very exciting fight, I'm really looking forward to it," said Billam-Smith.
Masternak said: "I think Chris Billam-Smith is a very good boxer. He showed his warrior soul in his last fight and proved that he deserves to be champion. I have a lot of respect for him in that way, but I believe more in my skills and my experience. I've been dreaming of the world championship since I started boxing. My boxing journey has been like a movie, all the highs and lows. I hope in December we get the best scene. I'm looking forward to fighting in England again, the fans create a great atmosphere there."
BOXXER founder and CEO Ben Shalom added: "Chris Billam-Smith wanted his first defence of the WBO world cruiserweight championship to be a big crowd-pleaser of a fight in his home town. Mateusz Masternak ticks all the boxes; he's ranked No 5 in the world, he's got a ton of experience and he rarely takes a backwards step. He's a very dangerous opponent and Billam-Smith is taking a serious risk here.
"Anyone who has ever experienced a BOXXER event at the Bournemouth International Centre will know just how crazy the atmosphere gets in there and I think this one will take that to a new level, the crowd are going to raise the roof. We're ending the year with a guaranteed Christmas cracker and I can't wait."
Billam-Smith's big plans
Billam-Smith has significant plans for the year ahead. He has signed a new deal with BOXXER and knows Lawrence Okolie will be looking for revenge in 2024.
"Lawrence is rebuilding for now. I've always known I'm going to have to box Lawrence again," he told Sky Sports News.
"It's always been step by step. Win a title, then if I have to make a defence or a couple of defences, great. But then unification is the one [he wants] and undisputed eventually. That's the plan.
"The domestic fights obviously are the ones that everyone wants to see, ideally you could get a unification in those fights but if not they're massive fights anyway and they're the fights I love being involved in."
But he must come through a difficult opponent in Masternak on December 10.
"He's so tough, he does everything very well. He's got good punch output, good punch power," Billam-Smith said of his next challenger.
"He's ready to let his hands go. We've seen how I fight so it can only be an exciting night."
