Cheavon Clarke refuses Chris Billam-Smith handshake: 'I never stole his place'

Clarke allowed only a fist bump at their live face-off, while Billam-Smith said he can get rid of any cruiserweight in the world before they meet at the Copper Box on Saturday.

Cheavon Clarke refused to shake Chris Billam-Smith's hand at their live Sky Sports face-off on Thursday, two days before they headline Zuffa Boxing 12 at the Copper Box Arena in London.

Clarke eventually allowed a fist bump but would not take the handshake, and the two stared each other out for a protracted time. The score goes back a decade. Clarke beat Billam-Smith in the 2016 elite amateur championship final, and both then went to an assessment for the GB squad. Clarke progressed to the international team and the Olympic Games.

"I never stole his place. We fought, I won on the day and we both had the opportunity," Clarke said. He said he expected they would eventually meet as professionals: "Of course, you're going to meet at some point if you're trying to elevate yourself," he said, adding: "It's time for us to get it on now."

Billam-Smith, asked at the same face-off whether Clarke took his place, said he did not think so and that Clarke earned the GB spot. He has a score to settle all the same, though he believes he might never have become a world champion had he won that final. Billam-Smith went on to win the WBO world title by upsetting Lawrence Okolie in 2023. "I probably never would have ended up training with Shane [McGuigan]. Shane is genuinely the only coach out there that would have got the best out of me," he said.

Clarke got up from the canvas twice to stop Jack Massey in his last fight, and Billam-Smith is convinced he would not have let him off the hook. "If I had Chev hurt I believe I can get rid of him," Billam-Smith said. "I believe I can hurt any cruiserweight in the world and I can get rid of any cruiserweight in the world."

"I'm Cheavon Clarke, you can't ever count me out," Clarke warned.

Their cruiserweight fight at the Copper Box is live on Sky Sports on Saturday 7 November, with Zuffa Boxing 12 coverage starting at 7pm.

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