Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki Preview June 6th, 2026
Former WBO Cruiserweight Champion Chris Billam-Smith of Bournemouth, England returns to the ring this Saturday, June 6th to take on Canada’s Ryan Rozicki in Billam-Smith’s hometown. The 10-round cruiserweight bout can be seen live on Paramount+ in America while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on Sky Sports. Rozicki last fought in March when he stopped Gerardo Mellado of Chile in the second round. It was Rozicki’s first fight since December, 2024 when he battled to a 12-round draw with Yamil Peralta in a rematch for the WBC Interim Cruiserweight Belt. The two first met in 2022 with Rozicki winning a controversial 12-round split decision for the vacant WBC International Cruiserweight Belt. The result stood but the WBC decided that the title should stay vacant due to judging favouritism in Canada. A WBC panel reviewed the fight after Peralta’s team complained about the scoring. Billam-Smith’s last contest came in April of last year when he beat Brandon Glanton via a 12-round unanimous decision. In his previous outing five months earlier Billam-Smith dropped a unanimous decision to WBA Champion Gilberto Ramirez in a title-unification bout to lose his WBO belt.
Billam-Smith vs Rozicki Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Ryan Rozicki +313
- Chris Billam-Smith -450
My Pick
The 35-year-old Billam-Smith makes his way to the ring with an impressive mark of 21-2 with 13 Ko’s and has 164 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2017. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career with a reported 32-11 record and fought in several English National Championships, making it to the Final in 2013 and 2016. He measures 6-feet-3-inches tall with a 75-inch reach and has lost just once since 2019, and that was against Gilberto Ramirez in November, 2024.
Since turning pro, Billam-Smith stopped Craig Glover in the fifth round in 2019 for the vacant Commonwealth Cruiserweight Crown and then edged Tommy McCarthy by 12-round split decision to add the European and vacant British Titles in July, 2021. He stopped McCarthy in the the eighth round in April, 2022 in their rematch and also has wins over Isaac Chamberlain, Dylan Bregon, Nathan Thorley and Robin Dupre. Of course, the biggest win was his majority decision upset of Lawrence Okolie in May, 2023 to take the WBO Cruiserweight Crown. He then defended it by stopping Mateusz Masternak after eight rounds and Richard Riakporhe via a unanimous decision in a rematch.
The first defeat on Billam-Smith’s record came at the hands of Riakporhe by 10-round split decision in a shot at the WBA Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title in their first meeting in July, 2019. As far as power goes, Billam-Smith has pretty good pop in his punches as 62 per cent of his wins have come by way of stoppage but he has gone the distance in eight of his last 11 fights. Billam-Smith also has a pretty solid chin to go along with the rest of his attributes.
Rozicki is now 31 years old and carries around an impressive record of 21-1-1 with 20 Ko’s which means 95.2 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He obviously has a heavy punch as he’s stopped 20 of his 23 opponents so far with 18 of them being halted in the first three rounds. He’s boxed just 86 rounds since turning pro in 2016 after a short amateur career but has more or less taken on domestic-level opposition only in Canada. His biggest fight though was for the inaugural Bridgerweight title in October, 2021 when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Oscar Rivas for his lone pro defeat.
The only other times Rozicki went the distance were in May, 2022 when he was awarded a 10-round split decision over Yamil Peralta for the vacant WBC International Cruiserweight Belt. However, the result was appealed by Peralta’s team and a WBC panel reviewed the fight and ruled the title still vacant as a no contest as all three of the judges were from Canada and some hometown cooking may have been involved. He then went the 12-round distance with Peralta in their rematch in December, 2024 when the pair battled to a draw.
Rozicki won the vacant NABA Cruiserweight Title in 2018 by stopping Abokan Bopke in the first round and captured the vacant WBC International Silver Cruiserweight Belt by halting Shawn Miller in the third round a year later. He also took the NABA Cruiserweight Belt in 2021 when he stopped Sylvera Louis in the sixth round and won the NABF Crown in 2023 by stopping Alante Green in the 10th round. Rozicki is listed as 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 77-inch reach so gives up an inch in height to Billam-Smith but has a two-inch edge in reach.
Prediction…
Billam-Smith has taken on tougher opposition over the years but has suffered a bit of damage as he reportedly suffered a broken right thumb as well as damaged ribs, a fractured left hand and needed stitches over his left eye after his loss to Gilberto Ramirez and was also cut over the left eye in his last outing against Brandon Glanton. He’s stepping back into the ring with yet another power puncher in Rozicki and it’s hard to tell what Billam-Smith has left in the tank. He and Rozicki fight more on pure heart than slick skills but Billam-Smith is fighting in his hometown and that could benefit him if this goes the distance. If Billam-Smith can handle Rozicki’s hardest shots and outwork him then he’s likely going to win this contest but I just have a feeling that Rozicki is going to upset the apple cart and leave England with a victory. It’s still a tossup but I’m going with Rozicki in this one.
Rozicki’s power could be the difference.
Play: Rozicki +313 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Chris Billam-Smith betting • Ryan Rozicki betting