The under-card is shaping up for the heavily hyped April 26th fight between bad blood next gen rivals, Chris Eubank Junior and Conor Benn. And for me, the standout supporting fight is a cruiserweight showdown that just might become the fight of the night. Former WBO cruiserweight champ Chris Billam-Smith will face Brandon Glanton, and the styles of these two 200 pounders could really make for a memorable, fun fight.
Epsom’s Billam-Smith, 20-2(13) was last seen getting the worst of it in an at times thrilling slugfest with Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, with Billam-Smith losing his WBO belt in November. Glanton, known as “Bulletproof,” and fighting out of Riverside in California, is currently 20-2(17) and he was last seen stopping Alexey Egorov in the 11th round, the fight taking place last June. Billam-Smith is 34, Glanton is a couple of years younger at 32.
Not too long after going pro, Glanton, athletic and powerful, looked for certain like a future world champion. Glanton was, however, derailed, at least for a while, when he dropped close, controversial decisions, back-to-back, to David Light and Soslan Asbarov. Coming back to win his last three, all by stoppage, Glanton has also been sparring in good company. Glanton, speaking with UK Boxing News, says he got the better of it big style when he sparred WBC cruiserweight champ Noel Mikaelian before Mikaelian’s aborted fight with Ryan Rozicki.
“I beat Mikaelian to a pulp,” Glanton said back in August. “My fists were like magnets to his face.”
Glanton also told Boxing News in the same August interview that he badly wanted to fight Billam-Smith, who was then the WBO champ, in his hometown. Now, in a non-title affair, Glanton will get the fight he called for. And to repeat, this fight could prove lively. As far as who wins on April 26th, a lot may depend on how much that at times brutal loss to Ramirez might have taken out of Billam-Smith. It was quite remarkable how Billam-Smith was able to eat “Zurdo’s” best shots for all 12 rounds. But at what cost?
Glanton has perhaps never been hurt in a fight, and this is certainly a potentially tough, tough fight for Billam-Smith to come back with. The winner of this one will no doubt be calling for a title shot of some kind. You could call Billam-Smith-Glanton a 50-50 fight, or close to it. There will be fireworks. Both guys will earn their money on the night, rest assured.
So, who does win this fight? Glanton fully believes he will win his UK debut, while Billam-Smith says otherwise. Glanton wants to get in the ring with a reigning world champion. Billam-Smith wants to prove he has what it takes to become a two-time champ. Neither man has been stopped, but will this change in April?
