Chris Billam-Smith defeated Mateusz Masternak by corner retirement, heading into the eighth round at the Bournemouth International Centre. Masternak gestured towards his rib cage as the round was about to begin and the referee resultantly stopped the fight.
Before the stoppage, the Pole appeared to be winning on two of the judges’ scorecards and he was posing plenty of problems, but the champion’s body shots were too strong for the 36-year-old.
Billam-Smith played aggressor in a timid first round which involved him feeling out Masternak with the jab, but neither fighter landed anything of substance.
‘The Gentleman’ came out fast in the second round with a flurry of punches to alert the challenger. This did not phase the Pole, as Masternak began to land cleanly.
It was hard to split the fighters after an end-to-end third round but Masternak made it clear he had a crowd with him every time he got through Billam-Smith’s guard.
The defending champion’s chin got checked in the fourth round as Masternak began to see more success and grow into the fight
With the help of the crowd, Billam-Smith stayed on the front foot in the fifth and continued to press Masternak in the sixth, where both fighters ended the round with a big right hand.
Crossing the halfway point, there was a lot of clinch work from both fighters and it looked like Masternak was profiting from this the most. However, Billam-Smith ended the round superbly to hype the crowd up going into the eighth.
As the eighth round looked to commence, Masternak and his corner told the referee that he could not continue due to ‘a lump on his rib after being broken’, claimed as per the champion.
Billam-Smith wheeled off in celebration after making his first-ever title defence as WBO Cruiserweight champion. Moving to 19-1, he will look for a deserved rest, but familiar faces like Richard Riakporhe and Viddal Riley were present and likely licking their lips at that performance.
In the co-main event, Ben Whittaker impressed with his notoriously confident style against Stiven Leonetti Dredhaj. Whittaker frustrated Dredhaj in the opening rounds by making him miss the majority of his punches - as he normally does to his opponents. ‘The Surgeon’ pressed with aggression in the third round which secured him a knockdown, but it was in the fourth when he unleashed a counter left hook which pinned the Italian to the canvas. Courtesy of another knockout, the Brit moved to 5-0 and said he hopes for an active year in 2024.
Olympic gold medallist, Lauren Price, was the clear winner in her eight-round fight against Silvia Bortot. Landing a larger volume of shots and dominating Bortot in all aspects, the judges were convinced the Welshwoman won every round.
One of the most entertaining fights of the night saw Shane McGuigan’s newly acquired Lee Cutler compete against Kingsley Egbunike for the vacant English Super-Welterweight title. Despite a cut over the left eye for Cutler in the 10th round, as well as Egbunike withstanding all punches thrown at him, the crowd favourite fulfilled his dream by becoming English champion via unanimous decision.
Lewis Edmondson made his performance over Dmytro Fedas look simple, barely getting touched and teasing the Ukrainian for six rounds. Fedas was at his best when within range but he got sloppy in the final round when he kept trying to hold onto Edmondson and was therefore deducted a point. Edmondson was able to use his range effectively throughout, resulting in a convincing 60-53 decision victory for the undefeated ‘Saint’.
Belen Arrieta proved a tougher test for Francesca Hennessey than many would have thought, but the 19-year-old was the sharper fighter across six rounds and won her second-ever professional bout via a 59-55 points decision.
Michael McKinson opened the evening against Musah Lawson when they fought for the vacant WBC Silver International title, with the Brit cruising to a unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards. He will now expect to carry on climbing up the rankings next year after becoming champion thanks to an impressive performance.
Another successful show for Boxxer and Chris Billam-Smith would have impressed Ben Shalom once more of ‘The Gentleman’s’ star power down on the south coast. Fans will have to wait and see if they are treated to a second title defence in 2024.