Billam-Smith grudge with Clarke revealed | 'It affected him for years'

Chris Billam-Smith fights Cheavon Clarke at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday live on Sky Sports; Billam-Smiths rivalry with Clarke dates back more than 10 years; Clarke beat him in an amateur bout that had profound consequences for both boxers; Now they look to settle the score

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Old wounds can still ache. Chris Billam-Smith has achieved more than Cheavon Clarke as a professional fighter. But Clarke still has something Billam-Smith never got.

They fight each other on Saturday in the headline bout at the Copper Box Arena in London, live on Sky Sports.

10 years ago, when they were amateur boxers, Clarke beat Billam-Smith in the final of the national championships.

The result spun their lives in different directions. It led Clarke onto the GB squad, where he excelled and became an Olympian.

Billam-Smith never did win the elites. He eventually turned professional, labouring on small hall shows at first though he rose to win British, Commonwealth, European and ultimately a world title.

But losing to Clarke in that 2016 amateur final, one of Billam-Smith's two amateur losses to him, hurt.

Source: Sky Sports