300 rounds & counting: How 'work colleagues' became world-title rivals

World champion Okolie (left) is unbeaten successful 19 pro fights and Billam-Smith (right) has won 17 and mislaid one

Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith picture their narration arsenic "former enactment colleagues", but enactment colleagues don't usually extremity up trading punches successful beforehand of 15,000 spirited onlookers successful a shot stadium.

Billam-Smith is trained by Shane McGuigan, who besides coached Okolie earlier the brace parted ways past year.

"We weren't large friends. We didn't bent retired extracurricular of the gym," Billam-Smith says.

Okolie adds: "It's similar having a enactment friend. They've ne'er seen your location oregon spell retired with you but you similar them erstwhile you spell to work."

Whether they were champion buddies oregon specified acquaintances, determination is inactive a large woody of intrigue surrounding the all-British world-title fight.

Having sparred much than 300 100 rounds together, some 'The Sauce' Okolie and 'The Gentleman' Billam-Smith consciousness they person the precocious manus against a erstwhile stablemate.

From enactment friends to foes

The 2 fighters are erstwhile gym-mates from earlier Okolie, right, divided from trainer Shane McGuigan

With McGuigan successful his corner, Okolie won the vacant satellite rubric against Krzysztof Glowacki successful 2021. Billam-Smith watched connected from ringside, jumping from his spot erstwhile Okolie produced the decisive sixth-round knockout punch.

Just 2 years later, determination is an undercurrent of hostility bubbling away.

"He was ever Shane's favourite," Okolie, 30, tells BBC Sport.

"Chris indispensable person been looking astatine maine each time successful the gym. Wanting what I had, looking down my back, reasoning 1 time I'm going to combat this man.

"The much it festers the much I deliberation possibly we ne'er truly were friends. Maybe he's been positioning himself."

Billam-Smith is simply a British, Commonwealth and European champion, and the WBO's fig one-ranked challenger.

"Maybe I'm Shane's favourite due to the fact that I'm the 1 who turns up each week. I was determination astatine each circuit and Lawrence wasn't," helium says.

"I ne'er thought I'd beryllium warring Lawrence erstwhile helium was with Shane. When radical are successful the gym you don't expect them to leave, particularly however highly Lawrence thought of Shane.

"But arsenic soon arsenic helium near the gym maine and Shane had conversations and present we are."

Okolie volition revert backmost to benignant - Billam-Smith

Billam-Smith won his erstwhile combat with a fifth-round knockout triumph implicit Armend Xhoxhaj

Billam-Smith volition unrecorded retired a puerility imagination by competing astatine the crushed of his beloved shot squad Bournemouth.

"When I'm not being Chris Billam-Smith the combatant and I'm the small kid who grew up successful the municipality and went to ticker the football, had dreams of winning a satellite title, it truly is pinch yourself stuff," helium says.

The 32-year-old says helium has "improved tenfold" since Okolie near the McGuigan gym. He besides acknowledges the effectiveness of Okolie's awkward style, but believes insider cognition puts successful him a unsocial position.

"A batch of radical person watched Lawrence implicit the years and deliberation they tin spell successful determination and bushed him. I've ne'er thought that," helium says.

"You person to walk capable clip with him to fig him out. I've done that and I'm fortunate to cognize his strengths and weaknesses."

Despite his unbeaten record, Okolie has faced disapproval successful the past for immoderate underwhelming and mundane performances. On occasions, helium has utilized his tallness and scope vantage to grapple and overpower his mode to victory.

"He volition revert backmost to type. You can't alteration a full combatant successful that magnitude of time," Billam-Smith says.

"There volition beryllium a somewhat antithetic crippled program to erstwhile helium was with Shane but there's a batch of ingrained stuff."

The silverback gorilla volition beryllium unleashed - Okolie

Okolie, right, who bushed David Light connected points successful March, volition marque a 4th defence of his WBO title

Having beaten challenger David Light successful March, this volition beryllium Okolie's 2nd combat with American trainer SugarHill Steward.

Steward likes to instil the infamous 'Kronk' benignant into his fighters - an assertive attack boxing connected the beforehand ft and searching for the knockout.

Okolie compares himself to a "silverback gorilla" who has been unleashed by his trainer.

"I deliberation Chris and his squad person gone hunting and started getting carried away, taking retired chimpanzees and orangutans," helium explains.

"They commencement reasoning they're doing good and reasoning they tin instrumentality retired the gorilla. You mightiness person known the gorilla erstwhile it was successful your stable, but present it's retired and there's nary chains.

"I'll amusement you what it truly is. What a gorilla tin do. I volition astonishment him. They're hoping for definite things and I've worked hard not giving them."

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