Chris Billam-Smith has said that a return to the ring has “got to be at world level” following defeat to Gilberto Ramirez in Saudi Arabia.
The British cruiserweight was outpointed by Ramirez in a world title unification bout and has now spoken for the first time since that loss on November 16.
“I was hitting him with real neat shots and just wasn’t getting any reaction from him and I was shocked at that.” Billam-Smith told BBC Sport.
“That’s a learning curve for me and the team, we thought I’d be able to get to him and hurt him but it wasn’t to be.
“I’ve never hit someone that clean and not got a reaction, he’d then fire back within five seconds with three or four big punches which was very disheartening.”
After the final bell the scorecards read 116-112, 116-112 and 116-113 all in favour of the Mexican Ramirez on the night.
It was the second loss of the Bournemouth fighter’s professional career after being beaten by Richard Riakporhe back in 2019.
In the hours that followed, the former WBO champion was taken to a hospital in Riyadh where he stayed for over eight hours to receive treatment.
Trainer Shane McGuigan said that Billam-Smith had boxed with damage to both hands and a rib injury, and he also had a number of deep cuts around his eyes, specifically his left.
Despite taking lots of punishment through the fight, Billam-Smith remained on his feet and lasted the full 12 rounds, starting well and claiming a few of the later rounds but not doing enough to deny Ramirez the title of unified cruiserweight champion.
‘The Gentleman’ admitted that the injuries impacted his ability to see during the fight and said that his vision was blurred for much of the latter stages.
“I was just trying to process everything afterwards at the hospital,” Billam-Smith added.
“I was in a lot of pain, I was cold and hadn’t eaten anything. I couldn’t move from bed to bed on my own and I needed support from others.
“I just remember lying there and shaking because I hadn’t eaten or had any water because of the morphine they were putting me on which did absolutely nothing for the pain.
“That type of fight was so draining mentally and physically, it was really hard to be honest.”
Billam-Smith’s reign as world champion lasted around a year- and-a-half but despite losing his WBO title, he said that he is not done yet.
The 34-year-old has previously held the British, Commonwealth and European cruiserweight titles.
The current world champions in his division are Ramirez with the WBO and WBA, IBF champion Jai Opetaia and Noel Mikaelian who holds the WBC belt.
Australian Opetaia has a mandatory defence of his title scheduled for January when he takes on undefeated German Huseyin Cinkara.
Billam-Smith is plotting a potential course in 2025 but is also mindful of his life beyond the ring. The 34-year-old trains in London during pre-fight camp, spending significant time away from wife Mia and their young son in Bournemouth.
“It’s likely that if Jai Opetaia comes through his next fight then he’ll fight Zurdo [Ramirez] for three of the belts,” Billam-Smith said.
“I’d love to fight the other champion and then take on the winner of that fight if it is possible. It’s got to be at world level either for an eliminator or a world title.
“I don’t want to go on and on though, especially having a young family and spending a lot of time away from them is the hardest thing during camp and missing the little man growing up.
“But I’ve got a couple more years left, I’m not thinking about retiring now I don’t want to off the back of that defeat I want to keep going and I’ll learn from it that’s all I can do.”
