Chris Billam-Smith Eyes Potential Usyk Showdown After Benavidez and Opetaia Tests

Chris Billam-Smith could stand to benefit if Oleksandr Usyk returns to the cruiserweight division.

Usyk was previously an undisputed world champion at cruiserweight before repeating that feat twice over at heavyweight, with victories over Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Daniel Dubois.

However, the Ukrainian’s team has revealed that he is now considering a return to cruiserweight before the end of his career.

The move is welcomed by Billam-Smith, the former WBO cruiserweight world champion.

“Probably it’s fair to say it knocks me down a spot in the world rankings!” he told Sky Sports.

“But it’s also great for the division—a huge name for a weight class that has likely been the face of boxing, certainly in terms of achievement.”

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Usyk would be expected to target formidable cruiserweight champion David Benavidez, the current WBA and WBO titlist.

If Benavidez does box Usyk, it means he won’t be fighting Jai Opetaia, another elite cruiserweight, next. Opetaia would still most likely return to cruiserweight after his December clash with Deontay Wilder but then he will be looking for an opponent himself.

That would be Billam-Smith’s opportunity. He is still gunning for that fight.

“That definitely seems more doable now,” he said. “I’m happy about that, because I think Benavidez would beat him and I always wanted to be the first man to beat Opetaia.”

Usyk vs … Billam-Smith?

If Usyk wanted to re-accustom himself to boxing at cruiserweight before fighting Benavidez he could do worse than selecting a strong, come-forward, former world champion like Billam-Smith in an interim bout.

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But Billam-Smith would expect Usyk to go straight into a fight with Benavidez, even though the Ukrainian hasn’t fought since beating Rico Verhoeven in May.

“I think the level he’s been and the level he’s at in terms of marketable fights, I think he’d go straight into a Benavidez fight, especially at his age now,” Billam-Smith said, before adding with a laugh: “I think taking interim fight, especially dangerous ones, against me, he doesn’t need to be doing.”

But Billam-Smith can dare to dream. On Saturday, live on Sky Sports, he fights Cheavon Clarke. Win that and it could be Opetaia next. Win that and he’d be right at the summit of the division. Then why couldn’t an Usyk fight happen?

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“Not next, maybe if he beats Benavidez, I beat Opetaia, that’s a nice little southpaw to warm up with before I go in with Usyk,” he said cheerfully.

Why is Usyk coming back down?

Why is Usyk risking his legacy by making a potentially perilous return to the cruiserweight division? “Challenge. Purely challenge,” Viddal Riley, the European cruiserweight champion, told Sky Sports.

“He keeps hearing: ‘This guy’s a monster, this guy’s a monster’ and then there’s a part of him that just wants to show people: no, he’s not a monster. I’m the guy. I’ve always been the guy.

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“I think it’s a lot of ego involved and it could backfire. It could backfire. People don’t really go to heavyweight, come back down and look the same.

“I don’t like to see the greats and the OGs do things like that because you’re letting the goalposts move and trying to keep up when you’ve achieved everything you need to achieve.

“But it’s still good for me and the division because we get spoken about more.”

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