Chris Billam-Smith decided to rule out a rematch with Richard Riakporhe after his rival rejected the fight last year.
Billam-Smith will receive his world title shot on May 27 at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth when he takes on WBO world champion Lawrence Okolie. The challenger was handed the shot by his former stablemate in a huge domestic dust-up, having worked his way up the rankings in recent times with big wins over the likes of Isaac Chamberlain and Tommy McCarthy.
It was suggested that a rematch with former conqueror Riakporhe could be on the table after his recent wins, as he sought revenge for his 2019 defeat when the pair were represented by Matchroom Boxing. However Billam-Smith has revealed no new contact was made between the pair given the star rejected a fight offer in December.
"We offered him the rematch in December and he didn't take it," Billam Smith told Mirror Fighting. "He said he would never fight me in Bournemouth and he was part of the contract to fight potentially on this date but we wanted to get a world title. It made sense for everyone.
"And obviously with it being in Bournemouth, who knows if he would have taken the fight or not. It was important for us to get a world-title shot, we went through all the champions and couldn't get a fight. For example we looked at Badou Jack, but he just wanted a payday which is fair enough given he has earned his stripes in the sport.
"We targeted the other three champions and managed to get one but if Lawrence didn't accept, we would have ended up offering it to Richard again and who knows if he would have taken it given there would have been no world title on the line."
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Billam-Smith suggested Riakporhe rejected a fight offer in December to rule out a second meeting, which left his future unclear at cruiserweight. His rival has yet to lose since turning over as a professional, but could now face an uncertain future given his contract with BOXXER now appears to have expired.
For now, Billam-Smith will receive his big shot at glory against a familiar face where he will be lead into battle by Okolie's former trainer Shane McGuigan. And 'The Gentleman' believes that this will hand him a significant advantage in the bout alongside an expected raucous home support.
"Yeah it is a huge advantage having Shane in my corner for any fight," he continued. "Having him around you are just constantly learning, it is a huge advantage. And the fact that he knows Lawrence inside and out is a huge advantage as well. I am very confident going into this fight having who I feel is the best trainer in the world in my corner."
