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Boxing

Chris Billam-Smith explains his strengths ahead of Mateusz Masternak title fight

Chris Billam-Smith explains his strengths ahead of Mateusz Masternak title fightDAZN
The Briton defends his title this Sunday.

WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith believes he has the strengths to defeat challenger Masteusz Masternak, but concedes there is no guarantee of victory.

The Briton also conceded that the experienced Pole could well beat any fighter who does not have a committed training camp.

The pair fight on Sunday at the Bournemouth International Centre, and speaking to Sky Sports, Billam-Smith acknowledged that Masternak, who has more than 50 fights to his name, will be a determined opponent.

"It makes for an intriguing fight," Billam-Smith said to Sky Sports. "I know what position he's in. I know how hungry he's going to be for this fight.

"Realistically, this is his only and probably last chance at a world title so he's going to be giving it absolutely everything.

"He will leave everything in the ring. So I've got to be willing to do the same.

"We'll see who comes out on top."

He continued: "I always train with an intensity in all my boxing work and I think that's something that I've built up from when I was an amateur. I've always trained at a high pace and always dug deep so it's not hard to go to that place.

"Because I spend so much time there training. So it's not hard to have to dig deep if I need to."

Discussing his opponent, he pointed to his professionalism and sheer size, explaining: "He's really well built. Thick arms. Huge neck. You never really see him out of shape when he's outside camp or anything like that. He's super experienced as well, so he's got that behind him.”

Nevertheless, he thinks his own preparation has been good, and he poses a threat himself.

"As long as I've had a full camp I've always prepared as diligently as I can and prepared for the very best version of everyone," he said.

"My work rate and my punch power and my speed, I've got to focus a lot on what I do well as what he does really well.

"It's not a fight that you can take lightly. He's one of those guys where if you take him lightly he'll definitely beat you and that's how it should be.

"It's a world title defence. No fight's going to be easy so it's about preparing perfectly for this and getting in a good performance."

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