Chris Billam-Smith will be looking to get revenge over Cheavon Clarke on Saturday night - 10 years after losing to his rival in the final of the 2016 National Championships

Chris Billam-Smith will get the opportunity to end a 10-year wait for revenge when he takes on long-time rival Cheavon Clarke on Saturday night.

The cruiserweight scrappers will headline the Zuffa Boxing 12 this weekend at the Copper Box in London. Both men have traded verbal jabs in the build-up to their highly-anticipated clash. Clarke rejected Billam-Smith’s offer of a handshake pre-fight - which has only added the fuel to the fire.

They first met in the final of the 2016 National Championships, with Clarke going on to get the nod on points. Clarke would go on to box at both the Commonwealth and Olympic Games before turning professional four years ago. As for Billam-Smith, he had to wait until the professional ranks to surge into contention and be recognised as a force to be reckoned with.

Billam-Smith - who turned professional in 2017 - won British and European titles before becoming a world champion in 2023. The 'Gentleman' has been forced to work his way back up again after dropping his gold strap to Gilberto Ramirez two years ago. Ahead of Saturday night's mouthwatering dust-up in London, Billam-Smith is well and truly out for revenge.

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“Obviously, we go back to the amateurs,” he said. “Me and Chev competing for the amateur elite national final title that means so much to all the amateur fighters. I think it's like the equivalent of the Golden Gloves in the States, so it's a fight I really, really wanted to win, and really thought I would… But he got the nod that day, and that helps add a little bit of spice to this fight because the 36-year-old me now gets to do 26-year-old me a favor and show him how much I've improved over the years and basically get one back for younger me. So, that's the plan on Saturday.”

“I think the biggest difference in me as a fighter – two completely different styles,” he said. “We were speaking about it the other day, and I was like, I'm not sure I've ever seen someone's amateur fights and pro fights, and them look like a completely different style altogether. There's not much you see in me as a pro in that amateur bout, and usually there's similarities… Even in Chev, you can see some similarities. He hits me with the right hand he hit Jack Massey with, for example, in that amateur fight. So yeah, I think that's the biggest factor in my career as a whole, but in this fight especially.”

A win on fight night could open up so many doors for both men, and Billam-Smith is excited to see what the future holds with a win over his long-time foe. “The cruiserweight division’s interesting. You've got Jai Opetaia, who beat Mikaelian last time out. You’ve got Benavidez and him talking about a fight. You got Usyk coming back recently, talking about a fight with Benavidez. So it's a great division to be a part of, and it has been for a long time,” he said.

“But I think with Usyk coming down and Benavidez coming up, I think that it shines a new light on a division and one that's deserved, because there's some great fighters and great fights in this division."