WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith got a bit more than he bargained for in his TKO victory over veteran challenger Mateusz Masternak.
The fight, which took place on Sunday in Bournemouth, saw Billam-Smith come from behind to stop Masternak in seven rounds. At the time of the stoppage, two of the official judges had Masternak up by five rounds.
Masternak was unable to come out for the eight round – citing a possible broken rib.
Billam-Smith started strong in the first, but Masternak would take over in the second as he began to land accurate punches and was making the champion miss his counters.
“I was probably down in the fight,” Billam-Smith told Sky Sports. “I was probably a round down and I won the seventh and Shane [McGuigan, his trainer] was like: ‘That’s it, let’s do it.’ I was looking too big early on. It was a hard fight as expected but I made it hard for myself really, to be honest. Made it really difficult for myself, started finding my range in the seventh round. He was obviously awkward.
“I was about to start turning the screw and unfortunately he pulled out as I was about to show everyone what I was going to do. In the seventh I really started finding my range and finding my shots and finding my rhythm. Obviously I started putting my shots together a bit better and then that’s what found the shot, the shot that did the rib and I could feel him getting more tired, more tired throughout the fight.
“I felt [the shot that hurt him]. I felt him sag and something happened. You could tell he felt it and I was ready to start turning the screw. I was like five rounds, let’s go, I found my rhythm now. I know what I’ve got to do.”