Chris Billam-Smith dominates Ryan Rozicki over seven rounds to force an early stoppage by the Canadian’s corner in the first Zuffa Boxing event in the UK
Chris Billam-Smith put in a dominant performance in the cruiserweight division, forcing Ryan Rozicki to sit on his stool after seven rounds. The fight took place on Saturday night at the BIC Center in Bournemouth, England.
Rozicki (21-2-1, 20 knockouts) showed tremendous taker qualities in the second defeat of his professional career. Although his corner stopped the fight after the seventh round, the Canadian never had to go down. Billam-Smith (22-2, 14 knockouts) countered his opponent’s offensive style with precise counter-boxing and repeatedly intercepted Rozicki with hard strikes when he marched forward.
Rozicki was deducted a point in the second round for using his head after the fight was fought at high speed from the start. In round three, the Canadian was on the verge of a knockdown after several cracking right hands, but was able to save himself until the bell.
The pressure from Billam-Smith then increased further. In the following two rounds, Rozicki was repeatedly hit with heavy blows to the head. In the fifth round in particular, he demonstrated exceptional resilience and remained on his feet despite being hit repeatedly.
After seven one-sided rounds, Rozicki’s corner finally pulled the ripcord and ended the fight to protect their boxer from further damage. Billam-Smith thus secured a convincing TKO victory.
Cheavon Clarke celebrates knockout win over Jack Massey
Billam-Smith’s success was the main fight of the first Zuffa Boxing event in the UK. In the co-main event, cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (12-2, 9 knockouts) stopped fellow countryman Jack Massey (23-4, 13 knockouts) by knockout in the seventh round.
In the heavyweight division, Harvey Dykes (7-1-1) suffered a split-decision defeat to Ivan Dychko (16-1, 14 knockouts). In the middleweight division, Stephen McKenna (16-1, 15 knockouts) made for a quick win, stopping Casey James Streeter (15-4-2, 6 knockouts) in the first round.