Chris Billam-Smith has claimed that fellow British cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe turned down a rematch because he does not want to fight in front of a Bournemouth crowd.
Billam-Smith lost to the Londoner in 2019, his only loss so far, but he has rebuilt his career with a succession of victories, the most recent coming last weekend at the Bournemouth International Centre against Albanian fighter Armend Xhoxhaj.
The 32-year-old is making a habit of hometown fights of late, and Riakporhe said while covering the bout that he would have beaten his erstwhile rival in three rounds.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Billam-Smith countered: "He's going to say what he's going to say.
"He had the opportunity to fight me on Saturday night and unfortunately, he turned it down.
"We agreed to it, I heard that he didn't want to fight me in Bournemouth. He saw the atmosphere last time out, so maybe that put him off a little bit.
"He had the opportunity, but he didn't take it, so words are one thing, actions are another."
Riakporhe and Billam-Smith are now focused on claiming a world title, and the latter believes that should they succeed it would make for a massive unification clash.
"I think now our eyes are set on a world title shot, so we're going to go away and win a world title," Billam-Smith added.
"Hopefully he can do the same and then we can get the rematch on both as world champions and make it a huge, huge fight."