Building the body and mindset of a champion with Commonwealth Boxing sensation, Chris Billam-Smith #2

Chris has a passion and drive to constantly improve himself, both physically and mentally. With his latest fight just around the corner, we chat all about how he maintained motivation during lockdown away from training camp and how he gets ready for the ring. 

Otherwise known as “The Gentleman”, Chris openly chats about his career path into becoming a champion boxer, the support system of relationships he has around him and his ambition to become a role model for the younger generation and leave his own legacy in the world of sport. 

This episode covers:

• Mindset and mentality
• Self-care 
• Strength in relationships
• Nutrition & hydration before competing
• Leaving a legacy and becoming a role model

Learn more at https://simonethomaswellness.com/ and reach out on instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonethomaswellness/

Transcript

Simone Thomas : 0:17

Welcome to Living Life Well with Simone Thomas. Today I have Chris Billam-Smith, aka "The Gentleman" joining me. Chris is a fantastic and very well known English professional boxer. He is currently the Commonwealth Cruiserweight champion, and on Friday 7th August, Chris will go up against Nathan Thorley, the current former Welsh champion for the Commonwealth Cruiserweight title. So guys make sure that you tune in on Friday 7th August on Sky Sports to see Chris go head to head with Nathan. Today Chris is going to be joining me to talk all things life, wellness, lockdown and now kind of getting ready to get back in the ring ready for the 7th of August. So guys, I want to welcome Chris to you. And I think you're gonna enjoy this one. Welcome to Living Life Well with Simone Thomas, today I have the amazing Chris Billam-Smith, aka The Gentleman in the house. Good morning, Chris!

Chris Billam-Smith : 1:26

Morning, how are you? You alright?

Simone Thomas : 1:28

I'm good. I'm good yourself?

Chris Billam-Smith : 1:29

Very well. Thank you.

Simone Thomas : 1:30

So for those of you that don't recognise the name, it's a name that you definitely need to put into Google and you need to recognise. Chris is an English professional boxer with a fight coming up on Friday 7th August on Sky Sports. It's been very, very different time for all of us, and especially for such athletes like Chris right now, with going through lockdown with COVID and kind of how all of our life has changed. And I wanted to kind of catch up with Chris today to talk about what's been going on in his life. For the last three, four months, how things have changed, you know what wellness things have kind of changed with training and kind of how he's feeling, you know, going into this fantastic fight on Friday 7th of August. So Chris is fighting Nathan thorley, the former Welsh champion. I have obviously Welsh blood in me, but I will not be rooting for him! I'll be rooting for you on the evening! So Chris, kind of like tell us like we know what's been going on? I know you've gone just back to camp recently, where you're kind of away in the week and luckilyyou're able to be home at the weekend. But that's not been the case for kind of the the hundred days of lockdown and stuff as well. So how have you kind of found it?

Chris Billam-Smith : 2:41

Yeah, it was definitely different at first it was... I think I've been away Monday to Friday, most weeks for the last three years. So then obviously, I have my fiance at home, so she was working from home at first so we were getting in each other's way or mainly me getting in her way to be fair. So then it was self motivating as well so obviously in camp I'm told a time and a place to be and turn up and you train where as when you're at home you've got to motivate yourself and I can do it but it was just different at first and adjustments had to be made then obviously gyms won't even open, so I got a little scaffolding rig set up in my front garden...

Simone Thomas : 3:22

I saw that on on Instagram!

Chris Billam-Smith : 3:23

Yeah, my brother's a scaffolder so luckily I made little squat rack and a pull up bar and hung a punch bag off the end of that. So use that for training and stuff and just got on got on the 5k runs that everyone was doing. And got my running in and stuff like that but it was different because I was just waking up at home and the mindset of being at home is usually relaxing because I've come home at weekends. Obviously very lucky where we live in Bournemouth, especially when the sun's out as it is has been in for most of lockdown. So for me, I've always said going home is like going on holiday every weekend, I'm very lucky. I'm not with my family or my fiance all week, so I go home and relax. So then waking up every morning at home, my mind is set in that relaxing mindset, then I'm having to get out of that and focus and motivate myself. But I got there in the end and took me a while, there were a few days, where I was having arguments myself in my head trying to motivate myself and stuff. But the time off was good as well too, I think mentally it made me a lot stronger. And I tried lots of different ways just to improve myself as an athlete naturally, I'm always looking for 1% or 2% here and there to improve myself. So yeah, that's what I was doing and finding all sorts of random stuff to do, I started yoga, which has helped me massively and now that's in my training regime a lot more often. Yeah, and amongst a few other things, as well as doing some nasal breathing, so like mouth taping sessions, which is a lot different...

Simone Thomas : 4:03

Are you sure that's not just not your fiance trying to keep you quiet?

Chris Billam-Smith : 5:05

Yeah ha! It wasn't actually her idea, but she thought of it a lot earlier. But yeah, it was a few different things, and I feel like it's a time I'll definitely reflect on I think it would have made me a much better person and a much better athlete.

Simone Thomas : 5:22

And I know just before we kind of came in here this morning, we were talking just outside and you know, there was a couple of books where we are today, sort of on the library. And when you kind of say, "well, I've read this book" and "I've read that book", it was kind of a nice surprise to me because you don't have that opinion, you know, when you see a champion boxer and you just think it's you know, hard man in the ring, hard man outside the ring, and you wouldn't even imagine you picking up a book as such, but you've read some amazing titles, you know, that we're all about kind of mind expansion, you know, why sleep's important, how to be the best within yourself, whether that's being an entrepreneur or you know, an athlete, but is that something that you've spent a bit more time doing since lockdown? Kind of bit more reading or reading new things that you would never have kind of read before?

Chris Billam-Smith : 6:06

Yeah, I mean, there's plenty of things I think from a money standpoint as well, lockdown's taught me a lot about, about money and stuff. I've never been like one to chase money or anything like that. I've always just sort of done what I've wanted to do, and achieve in something that I enjoy doing. And that was never money driven or anything like that. But you sort of, you know, not a new respect for money, but just how, obviously without boxing, there wasn't an income, you know, it was a lot different and you just sort of realised there is more to life than boxing. But I'm also more driven for boxing and I have ever been at the same time. But yeah, I think I've realised I'm capable of doing more than just boxing. I think I put too much pressure on myself before of just "I have to focus on only boxing," but then I'd have like, maybe four or five hours a day, where I wasn't doing anything and I was procrastinating. So I was trying to read a little bit more and just learn about different ways to train different ways to make money, different ways to do all sorts of things and just improve life as a whole and I'm very much a driven person in trying to make myself better so like I said about those books there was just little things, that 1% or 2% here and there that you can take from the books and just look to improve mine and my family's life.

Simone Thomas : 7:38

Did you kind of always know from a young age that you wanted to be a boxer? So you know, for some people, you know, they're five, six years of age and they can sing like, let's say Beyonce, she was always going to be a performer and a singer. Is it something that you knew at a very young age or is it something that you watched maybe with your family and thought, "I want to maybe give that a go" and then realised you had a natural ability and a talent? When did that feeling of wanting to be a boxer kind of kick in?

Chris Billam-Smith : 8:05

I actually only started when I was 16 so I'd actually left school so as a kid I played every sport there was, mainly football. I was a massive football fan. Very fortunate as a kid, I had a massive backyard and where I just play out there on my own as my brother's were a lot older than me, they were seven and nine years older, so they don't want to play when they're 13, 14, 15 with a seven year old kid. So I'd just be out there on my own practicing and I love football and as a kid, I just I thought as long as I work harder, I'll be a footballer, then I sound really spoilt, I am really spoilt, but we went to Australia when I was 11. So I didn't go to school in year seven. So my parents took me travelling and my brother's travelling for a whole eight months. So I literally went to school for, I think it's five weeks at the end of year seven. The rest of time I was just travelling around Australia so I wasn't playing football out there so at an age where I should have been able to do a lot of learning. But I was just out there and I was doing bodyboarding out there, I was doing BMXing out there because we travelled around we had like a trailer tent and a 4x4 so that was an unbelievable experience and an experience which I'll forever owe my parents for because I think I learnt a lot about myself at an age where it's quite strange age sort of 11 and I was spent a lot of time my own just self motivating, not consciously just subconsciously, finding ways to keep myself happy. I was just getting a BMX out in the morning after breakfast, wake up in a campsite and find somewhere to go and do some jumps or get a body bard that would take me out to the beach, and stuff like that. So yeah, I've done all sorts of sports and volleyball and BMXing and out there, I've done fencing I've done badminton, tennis, swimming, hockey I played as a kid, I was playing hockey on Sunday mornings and football in the afternoon so sports has always been a massive part of my life and I always knew I'd be involved in sport somehow. So when I left school, all my mates were going to college and I was like "okay I'll go to college by cause all my mates are going" I'll do something to do with sports, I did a B tech in sport. And as I was doing that, I realised that a B Tech's only going to get me into uni, but I never really wants to go to uni. But when I started my course, I was a lad in my class called Dean Perkins, who's now one of my best mates, whose going to be groomsman at my wedding, and he was boxing. And so I started training with him for a bit. And I was like, yeah, sort of just for fitness for football because I was playing football full time but I knew I wasn't going to be a footballer then. I was just helping my fitness with football on Sundays and stuff. And then I went and watched him box and everyone's just there. It was probably 300 people there but loads of his mates, we had similar mates at the time then, I've known him 4-5 months, and everyone's just there chanting "Dino" just repeatedly and I remember literally mid chant stopping and thinking, what an amazing feeling that must be to be in the ring. Everyone, all your mates are there chanting your name. And yeah, and it was just I was like, "right I'm gonna give that a go, i'd love that feeling, just for once." So then 10 months later I was in the ring, I was 17 years old and had my first fight and it was a really good feeling. There was probably 15 of my mates there, but that feeling of getting your hand raised infront of your friends and having other spectators there, you know, applause you is a really, really nice feeling. So I just sort of fell in love with that feeling there and then and then, but then even then I was boxing and just trying to better myself and trying to win a little western county novice title which is, it's not nothing because you know, some people might listen to this, lads that are at the box and it's an achievement. It's a respectable achievement, but I wanted to win that and then I end up winning the whole national championships as a novice boxer. That's for people who've had less than 20 fights or 10 to 20 fights. I won that and thought I'll go in the open class championships which is all the best kids in the country and I went in that and did okay, I got to the quarterfinal bucket fight in the quarterfinals and broke my hand in the fight before. So I was like right okay, I'll go in it next year. And then I just kept going and just kept driving forward and just right now I want to win the open class championships and then if I do that, I'll get on the Great Britain squad. And it's just like life, you get one goal and you achieve it and then you find another goal and you find another goal and that's sort of just how my whole career has gone, really. And then I didn't make the Great Britain squad. I got to the last assessment and missed out. And then I decided I wanted to turn professional and I've been doing a lot of sparring with super middleweight World Champion George Groves at a time and some of David Haye as well and they were both coached by Shane McGuigan. So when I decided I wanted to turn pro I asked Shane, and thought I'll start at the top because at the time in 2016 I think he'd won trainer of the year with the boxing writer's association which is a worldwide association and he got trainer of the year. So I thought I'd start at the top and work my way down, and thankfully, thankfully Shane said yes and now we've got a really good working relationship and a personal relationship as well. So I didn't know as a kid that I was going to be a boxer I knew I'd be involved in sport and I always had that drive. I remember one of my friend's Dad's was a football coach and he said, my Mum actually told me this probably a year or so ago, when I saw my friend's dad he told my mom when I was when I was a youngster he was like "he'll do something in the sport because I've always been like the team's captain because I was just so driven when it came to sport, not so much when it came to academics, but yeah when it came to sport, he just always thought I would and he said something to my mum and he told my mum and I thought "that's nice that he thought back then..."

Simone Thomas : 13:54

He saw it in you...

Chris Billam-Smith : 13:54

Yeah, saw it in me when I was 9-10 years old and think that says it all really just that drive to be good at sport. I just love sports just any sport and the competitiveness of being the youngest of three brothers I think them always bullying me and just me always wanting to try and get one up on them. Yeah so that competitiveness of having two older brothers I think just drove me and my brother was a massive boxing fan, my brother Ben, the middle brother, he was a massive boxer fan he always wanted to give it a go, I actually ended up fighting before him but then we box on his first fight, I have my second fight, we box on the same show, and both won which was a really great feeling as well to look back and share a night like that together. And he's a massive inspiration to me as well because he always pushed me and kept me humble in my wins and then always helped me with my defeats and stuff like that. So but yeah, as a youngster, like I said, like I knew I always wanted to be a champion in something and always wanting to be the best. Always want to be Captain when I was a kid, and that sort of thing in football teams, hockey teams, whatever it was, but yeah, I found boxing I think because it's not like football there's not 10 other people to let you down, you can have the best game of your life and still lose and being a control freak I didn't like that. So now I'm in full control. If I don't put in the work, I won't get the results. And that's just how I look at it. And that's, that's why I sort of fell in love with boxing.

Simone Thomas : 15:27

And with your mind preparation for a fight, because you know, obviously to look at you in the room today you're a gorgeous, big friendly giant, but obviously in the boxing ring, you've got to have a very different mind, a different persona, and you kind of become a different person. It's like a character bit like a movie because nobody wants to go in the street and have a fight with somebody. So how do you kind of prepare yourself for that? Do you have to have like the day before to yourself or is it literally you know, between you Shane and Barry in the room, like you always see on the TV where you're kind of sparring and talking that you kind of have, you know words that you discuss between each other or do you just kind of completely zone out? What helps you?

Chris Billam-Smith : 16:07

I believe I'm quite good at flicking the switch so it's like you said, you do have two personalities because I don't believe the personality outside the ring would get me any results in the ring if I was that. So I guess it is sort of a bit like acting in a way but you have to have that that in you. So yeah, there's very much two sides to me I think. Don't think I'd have a fiance as good as I do if I was acting like I was in the ring the whole time. Very much more aggressive, obviously, but that's part of the sport and I think now especially the last few years I've learned to flip that switch and change from The Gentleman as such to not being one because you can't be one in the ring and that's when the nickname got suggested to me I kinda like that because it's quite ironic because you can't be a gentleman in the ring, it's obviously a very vicious sport and dangerous sport. I just flip that switch and I can when I need to switch on I do and that's you know, the night before I don't spend it with with me and my fiance or anything I just spend the night either with coach or my assistant coach Josh Britchard, and then we just chill out in the room and have a laugh and stuff like that. But then when you get in the changing room it's very much "mind switched on" and Mia doesn't come to the change room or anything like that, because it can you know, as rocky in the Rocky film says "women can weaken legs", but it's, uh, ya know, it's, I think, some people can have that. But I think once I'm in the zone, I like to stay in the zone. And I'm probably not nice to be around from Mia's point of view, because I'll just be very dismissive of her because I'm in that zone, which probably wouldn't be very nice either so, yes, I see Mia on fight day and we'll having lunch together and stuff like that. But then it's sort of like, a few hours before the fight maybe three, four hours before the fight I'm like, right, it's time now to start getting switched on and have a little nap and then go to the arena, then it's very much mind switched on.

Simone Thomas : 18:22

And it must take, obviously, I've met Mia just prior to us coming in here today, and it must take a very strong woman, when you really kind of think about it to be with a boxer, to know what you're going to go through, you know, the good, the bad, the ugly, and it's great, you know, watching people on TV when you don't know them, but when you adore and you love somebody, it must be very, very hard. So like you were saying, you know, you don't get to spend that time together. Because I know as a female if that was my other half, let's say going in a ring, I'd be in a flood of tears, kind of like dragging on the ankles of like, please don't go. So it must be very hard for her as well to kind of have that kind of build up but then obviously it's kind of all forgotten about you know once the fights happened and kind of life continues as normal, let's say after those kind of you know those rounds but that kind of build up must be quite kind of intense and you know, it takes a very strong woman I would say to kind of be your rock and kind of be there and support you as well.

Chris Billam-Smith : 19:16

Yeah, absolutely. Obviously you have good and bad days in the gym so obviously while I'm away when I'm in camp, I'll call Mia and stuff in the evenings, she'll always ask how the day has gone and stuff like that yeah, she's amazing. She's always always been there for me, when we met, I had a shoulder injury and I didn't actually box for a year and she didn't know what boxing meant to me because she hadn't experienced it. She just thought just it's a hobby...

Simone Thomas : 19:43

...punches the bag!

Chris Billam-Smith : 19:44

Yeah it's a hobby he's had a few fights sort of thing and that was it. It was never a hobby for me once I sort of decided that I just wanted to keep pushing myself, it was a lifestyle it never ever leaves your mind, boxing never leaves my mind and then when I had my first ever fight, since I'd been with Mia, I'd had shoulder surgery and everything I came back after 18 months and had a bout down locally and just an amateur fight and I lost out. I lost on that one and got a walk down the steps and Mia was stood there. Think she'd had a few drinks and she said "That was amazing!" And like was smiling at me and I was just like, frowning at her saying "I lost". She's like, "yeah, but like the whole thing!" because she'd never experienced it from that point of view, she was a boxing fan beforehand, but ever experienced it from a personal point of view, and she loved it. And then now I don't think she loves it as much as there's a lot more on the line...

Simone Thomas : 20:38

...now she's fallen in love with you!

Chris Billam-Smith : 20:40

...and there's a lot more at stake. And obviously, as a professional it's a lot different. There's no head guards and the gloves are smaller and stuff like that. And yeah, it was quite funny how it's literally gone the opposite direction whereas my mom was like hated it at first now she enjoys it a lot more. Same with my dad who didn't want me boxing. And then I sort of rebelled and kept boxing and obviously my brother Ben was boxing as well so but now he's really proud of what I've achieved and what I've done with it so it's nice to have that but yeah Mia's, like you said she's my rock, she takes so much because she likes to go out and party I don't drink at all or anything like that. So there's times where she won't want to go out because I'm not going out or I'm not in the mood and then I'm in camp and I'm dieting and especially fight week you know, mood can definitely differ because you're making weight and stuff like that so you have to deal with a hell of a lot. And as well, it being a lifestyle and not just an eight week camp. It's the whole time I'm constantly looking to better myself and that's all like I said, it never leaves my mind. So she has to deal with a lot of different things in that sense. And I think most boxers partners will tell you that it can be very difficult, but they also she's there for me every, every day of the week and I'm very, very fortunate, and hence why I'm marrying her! So, yeah, I'm very, very lucky.

Simone Thomas : 22:17

And with food, you touched upon it earlier, like the build up to a fight, you know, food kind of changes. Do you follow a specific diet like daily? But then obviously, it changes kind of in the build up to it because, you know, some athletes have come out recently that they've been vegan for years, but have never wanted to say that they were vegan, and then they've kind of looked back over history and said, "Well, actually, there's been a lot of amazing athletes that have won gold medals or gone on to compete that are on specific diets." Do you sit there and eat 10 whole chickens before a fight the night before? Or do you just kind of just stick to the same plan every day and just kind of have it as a lifestyle thing?

Chris Billam-Smith : 22:53

Yeah, I mean, when I'm in camp, it's very much same, very similar everyday I sort of get meal preps done with all my macronutrients saying how many protein fats and carbs are there and stuff like that so, and hydration as well as obviously very important, then the last two weeks, you sort of start tapering it down, start lowering your carbs. So your body's not holding on to glycogen and stuff like that in fight week, then that's sort of how you lose the weight, dehydrate a little bit and deplete your glycogen stores, and obviously, as a professional, when you fight for title you weigh in the day before, so you have 30 hours to rehydrate. So it's quite a lot of time. And there's studies that have been done on it, because you obviously want to be the biggest you can be in your division and the strongest you can be and you know, people put on a lot of weight after the weigh in and it's quite hard to govern, because you could do a weigh in right before the fight, but people are going to struggle with that and there would be more injuries because you wouldn't have time, people might be well over the weight and they've just cut down just to make the weigh in and then they've got say five hours to replenish it and they're doing it all wrong. So it's definitely a sport where, because it's weight governed, it's hard to, it's hard to manage the weight and the time. So from a governing body point of view, but so yeah, we get about 30 hours and we just rehydrate after that. And then it's very much carbs and everything but you know, replenish all your glycogen stores through carbohydrates, and then get the fluids on board with your electrolytes and everything. So, I've got a nutritionist called James Moren who's a brilliant nutritionist. He works with the FA for the England football youngsters and the women. He's worked with boxers in the past, rugby players and stuff like that. And he's actually a friend of mine who I work with now and he's, he helps me so I just, you know, I speak to him once a week or twice a week, give him my weight and see where we're at and stuff like that and make a few tweaks, changes here. But I've done nutrition courses in the past, so I know a bit, not as scientific as he does, he's done full PhDs on it and stuff like that. But I like him because when we get on well we're mates and I know what he's saying is the right thing because i've you know, I've done courses in the past and educate myself of course in the past for this exact reason so I know when someone is giving me a plan, it's not just like, they download it off the internet and, and just given it to me, and it's actually meant to be for 70 kilos, you know, swimmer or something like that. So yes, I'm a massive foodie anyway, so it can be difficult to make weight sometimes, but where I'm a bigger weight obviously, I need a lot more calories on board. But yeah, on fight week, it's the main time when it changes, but it's the rest of camp and on fight day, it's people are like "what do you eat on the day of a fight?" And it's like well what do you eat on camp? You don't change it because something might disagree with you on fight day. You don't want to change your diet and start you know, trying new things out on the day of a fight. Thats the worst time, it's just gotta be like every other day. So yes, very much similar and monotomous at times through camp and boring because you could be eating chilli for three meals a day or four or five days a week somedays or whatever the meal might be. Yes, it's different to most other sports because of the weight governing but yeah, like I said, on fight day, nothing really changes, it's just whatever you eat through camp and just getting all that energy in you that you've lost through that week.

Simone Thomas : 26:29

And with your fight coming up on the 7th of August it's not going to be how we know fights to be in the past. So, one, you're not gonna have an audience or a crowd. It's not going to be in kind of the normal location and how are you feeling about that? Are you excited to be kind of one of the first in that new environment because it will go down in history, you know, with everything that we've gone, you know, through. We're going to be telling our children and our grandchildren to say "God, we went through this virus and you know, we survived and there was these events that went on". So even though I can assume it's quite daunting, it probably is still quite exciting because you're going into something that's kind of completely new.

Chris Billam-Smith : 27:07

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm very fortunate to be in the position I'm in, you know, on the Sky Sports shows there's only going to be 40 boxers fighting and there's four shows with five fights per show, and obviously two fighters per fight. So there's only 40 boxers and I'm one of them so there's, God knows how many for tens of thousands of boxers in the country, professional boxers, and throughout even all the other TV shows that are on and fights that are going ahead. There's probably not more than a few hundred boxers actually competing. So for me to be one of them I'm very fortunate. And I think that's how fighters should be feeling. You know, from a humanity point of view, like they got to realise that they're given an opportunity here, which very few people are getting an opportunity. So I'm very grateful for that. And I think definitely excited about it because like you said, it is history, it is different and it'd be a great experience which is only gonna give me lessons and improve me as a person and as a fighter moving forward so it's an experience which I'm really looking forward and am excited about. I think it may affect a lot of people but I think when it gets down to it and the fight's happen it's how you've prepared and I think that's always the case, if you've prepared diligently and meticulously then I think you'll perform on the night regardless of whether there's a crowd or not.

Simone Thomas : 28:32

And I kind of watched Nathan do an interview the other week on on YouTube on seconds out and he said that he's kind of got a game plan and that you are an absolutely outstanding boxer and he's actually really looking forward to the fight because for him he's got a hell of a lot to prove. Obviously you can't give away your camp plan, but are you going into this with kind of a game plan? Do you like in the movies like in Rocky watch your competitors, you know, on playback, you know, does that actually kind of happen in camp that you kind of look at their weaknesses, or boxers sometimes change their skills, and what they're going to bring because they know who they're going up against, so it's not always going to be the same as what you've seen before?

Chris Billam-Smith : 29:13

Yeah, I think as you go through the levels of boxing, you always want to stick to your style. You want to find out what your style is, and work to your strengths. But I'm very much a believer in taking people strengths away from them, so I do watch my opponents. I believe Nathan will be very tricky and awkward. Because he's slightly taller than me. He's got quick hands, he moves quite well. So I imagine he'd be a fool to watch my other fights, he'd be able to look at them and go, right I'm gonna stand toe to toe with him, because he's coming up a weight division from light heavyweight. So naturally, I've sat the weight longer so I'll be stronger than him on the inside, which I believe he said in that interview as well. So I think if he tried to stand there and trade with me it'd be a mistake from a gamepad point of view, so I think all he can do is try and outbox me and you know just make it as awkward as he can but I'm fortunate to have someone like Lawrence Coley in the gym who's very awkward boxer himself and a lot higher level he's boxed for a world title next he's very awkward and bigger than Nathan, stronger than Nathan so I've it's lucky to have that sort of sparring in the gym but yes he's obviously going to be coming with a lot to prove I've been in his position before when I boxed Richard Riakporhe and you know 90% of people were writing me off and I I lost on a very very close split decision which probably more than half the people thought I actually won the fight so I've realised I've got put myself in Richard Riakporhe's shoes and go I've got this young hungry kid coming through who wants to take my titles and I think that's what Riakporhe you know, sort of underestimated me. And that's definitely a lesson that I've learned not to underestimate people. So preparing as well as I can for this fight just as I would for any other fight.

Simone Thomas : 31:04

And you kind of said earlier, like linking back to your brother's kind of inspiration but was there when you decided to get into boxing, is there somebody in the boxing world, you know past present that is an inspiration to you or was it somebody completely different outside of boxing?

Chris Billam-Smith : 31:21

Yeah, I mean in boxing, there's obviously naturally Muhammad Ali was always a charmer watching his film. I think we were in Australia when his film came out. And I watched it then and I was amazed by it and I always liked I remember being a teenager before I started boxing and playing. It was a game like I think it's knockout kings Roy Jones Jr. was on the front and then obviously naturally you start watching boxing or want to start boxing then Carl Rots early on was actually I was quite into him but then I was always into George groves as well and then they ended up fighting each other and I was very much team team George and obviously then I've got to sparr him. But George was a massive inspiration to me as a British fighter and someone who sort of got, he lost a couple of fights and obviously lost against Carl a couple of times and then hadn't, that was both a world title fights, and had another world title fight, lost that one. And then he joined Shane, who is now my coach and he's eventually won a world title. So I love very much like a story of someone that given up and I'm pursuing it and I've heard since that George is very much in the after the third loss of her world title he they he was thinking about packing it in and just opened up a cafe with his Mrs, and that would have been it but since then he won a world title and millions and done really, really well for himself and we've actually become mates. He's very strange because he was very much an idol of mine as a my late years as an amateur and, and as a pro, then he'd become a stable mate. And I was sparring him all the time. And yeah, now you know, we talk every couple of weeks and stuff like that. So it's really good. Because, obviously people say don't meet your idols because they'll always let you down. But it's very different for me and Jordan. I'm very, very lucky to, to have that as you know, someone who idolise and he's happy to give me advice, you know, just at the end of the phone the whole time so but yeah, that's within boxing but then outside of boxing, I just admire athletes and people who you know, look at every area of their life to try and make themselves over a bad person or a better athlete and people like LeBron James, a basketball player his massive inspiration by Roger Federer who's for him as well. It's the best and it comes with a bit obviously plays tennis and he's a, an absolutely amazing player, but amazing person. So he's such a gentleman in the sport and having people like that as role models, I think are really important for all sports and inspiring the next generation how to carry yourself and that sort of, you know, if I can do that locally down here and inspire a few kids and help teach them how to care themselves and stuff like that. Be be amazing. That'd be definitely a massive achievement for me.

Simone Thomas : 34:06

I think like you say in the world that we live in with social media, you know, children look up to people like yourselves and professionals and there's a lot of professionals out there that don't realise that people are watching them all the time. You know, and like you were saying earlier, like the tennis Well, there's two different types of tennis players there are footballers but they need to be moulding you know, the younger generation and especially at the moment with all the knife crime the gun crime, you know, it's it's amazing for children to have you know, a sporting personality to look up to the is you know, the right kind of person you know, away from that field that you look up and think you know, what one day they say to their mom and dad, I want to be like that person and you know, and like your name, you know, the gentleman, you know, outside of the boxing ring, you are a gentleman inside the ring. It's a name that reminds me of kind of lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels inside that kind of like name, but you know, you can still fight and be you know, a decent honest guy, you know, full of love sort of care for the outside world. But when you're in the ring, it is just literally it's your sport, it's your passion, it's what you're, you know, fantastic doing. But you realise that your role model, you know, and you work with that and that's what's so lovely you know about yourself is that, you know, you do care about this, you know, you are thinking about the younger generation and that you want to give back and I noticed in the local community, when you're, you know, being seen at like, former football club or the youngsters that come up to you, and even the people that know you locally endorse it, you know, absolutely. Everybody adores you, everybody wants you to do whatever you want to do, you know, take over the universe, take over the world because you deserve it. Because you really are an honest, you know, guy with a good heart, you know, and what you see is what you get, you're not to different people. Thank you. And I think that means a lot, especially nowadays with the world that we live in. And I know you know, having two young boys, I would not want them to be a boxer because I would be crying. I read, but like my youngster, which we've talked about before, he's, he's hard as nails, you know, and I always call him like my Jason Statham, like he is built to fight, and I don't want him to then I think you know what, I'll get him into karate, and if that's how it's going to pave his way, and it's going to help him. And it's something that he's good at. I shouldn't hold him back. Yeah,

Chris Billam-Smith : 36:20

I think with I mean, Jason's safe and be a great role model because he gets to fight but it's, it's, it's not actually fighting. He does. He's, he's really acting wise, maybe not the greatest actor, but he does all his own stunts and stuff. And it is just amazing. Like, very few actors do their own stunts. My brother, actually my brother, Ben, who I mentioned, boxing, was always into boxing and stuff. He wanted to be a stunt man when he was when he was younger, and now he actually he's not. He's a he's a scaffolder, but he worked on the films and worked with the stunts and stuff like that. So yeah, I think like someone like Jason safe and when I'd be the same way Don't when when men near have have children, I wouldn't want them boxing. I think when you 10 professional and I've had it very easy in the sense of I've got good management I've been very much looked after. I still wouldn't want him to go for it because it's it's not I said I've I've enjoyed every moment but it's not what is seen on TV it's not people see your NHL shoes and your Floyd Mayweather is and all this money. But I reckon half a percent of boxers maybe maybe less than half a percent. The rest of them have got to work after they were after they retire. Or they never make it into a situation and they they waste 10 years of their life. Like I said, I'm very lucky in the opportunities I've had to spar Jules groves and then get in with McGuigan's and then have changed train me. I think if if I would have been handled had those opportunities and been in this situation, I wouldn't I wouldn't be sat here now with you. I wouldn't have achieved half of what I have. So it's very hard sport. Inside Outside doing the beauty of amateur boxing is its its purest form. But then even at the highest level of the amateurs in the Olympics for corrupt you see decisions always going the wrong way and, and stuff like that. So, but then there's the actual brutality side of it of seeing your child fight, which nobody wants. But yeah, so it's like, like I said earlier with the role model thing, it's great to have those role models that aren't just brash, and, you know, chucking money around or just about cars and stuff like that. At the end of the days, there's plenty of sayings out there, but can't take it to the grave of you. But you can, you name can live on in one way or another, whether that's, you know, how you make people feel or whatever, and I think role models are really important for that. But yeah, I wouldn't mind my Twitch, unboxing

Simone Thomas : 38:58

and kind of anybody that's listening That's, you know, maybe got children or even just a teenager that thinks, you know, you have to have money to go to a gym to even be able to try and emulate you know what you've done with your career. And you've proved earlier where you said that you just literally went up to Mulligan's and was like, right, I want you to take me on. And you know, there's nothing wrong in having a dream, you know, and, you know, we were talking earlier about books, and I do vision boards, and don't be scared to have a vision. And even if you get knocked back, doesn't mean that you're not good enough is just that that person's maybe not good enough for you, that you need to kind of go and find the right person. So for anybody that's wanting to get into sport, or you know, maybe doesn't come from a houses that's got money or, you know, they, you know, that they're struggling to meet and you know, what can they do to kind of turn that kind of grit inside of them into something without having to have money or having to have that gym around the corner. You can kind of go out there can't even live like a dream and work hard for it.

Chris Billam-Smith : 39:59

Absolutely. In I mean, box is not a sport where you need money to get into a lot of amateur clubs to cut per pound a session or free some of them and I think although I said a minute ago that I wouldn't want my children boxing I'd love to I'd want them to go to an amateur boxing club and learn the discipline respect that it's taught me and it's helped shape me as a man I am now so it's it's really important the what it teaches you the respect in amateur clubs is massive because you have the coaches there and they're very disciplined and you just learn you know, when the especially when you get into sparring and actually having someone throw punches at you and you're throwing punches back that teaches you something about yourself and life it's sort of like a very much a metaphor for life sometimes with getting knocked down and get back up and I think there's plenty of people and then a few Gary Vee Gary Vee the is an entrepreneur and he's, he's like fail as many times you can In the sense of you, with you find a successful person that hasn't failed, they don't exist, you don't learn from it, just just look at us as humans, you know, you as a, as a child, you don't just, you're not just crawling one day, and then you walk in, you try and walk you fall over. And that is just that's the perfect metaphor for life, whether it's business, whether it's sports, whether it's a relationship, whatever it is, I think that it can be that simple, like you're gonna fall over, but you get back up and eventually you'll get there and then all of a sudden, you never fall over again in your life unless you're really drunk. So it's Yeah, it's a very much I believe that it's that simple. We got to do is look at nature and humanity in the amount of times that people things fail and then get turned into you know, greatness and I think it's Michael Jordan who said that he shot 9000 shots and always missed 9000 shots, but You know he's also won the won the game of the last shot the game 100 times in this sport it's about you know, every day I fail probably every day in one way shape or form I fail and whether that's with boxing whether that's in my relationship whether that's if I finances whatever it is you fail one way or another you know you gotta learn from that and and that's the only way you can improve I've I got stopped in my sick family to fight at one five in a row. My first five I got stopped got completely obliterated by I was 18 years old and got obliterated by a two year old but then went back next year and got a little bit further in the championships. And then in my top five I got stopped again and it was a and then since then I've never never been, you know, never been dropped in a fight or anything like that. And it's I've been been beaten in a few amateur fights but and but a much higher level to what I got. And that's just what it is. It's lit You're going to fail, whatever you do to start off, if you're going to fail, and you know you're very successful in yourself, sure, you've had plenty of failures. And that you could, you know, you could be writing them, you won't be able to write them on the side of, you know, of a skyscraper. There's that many. And that's how life works. More you failed, the more you'll succeed. And that's sort of why I've been, even when I got I always the journey was always longer it wasn't to win that fight. It wasn't to achieve that goal. It's always like, right once I win this fight, or have this fight on Friday night, Saturday morning, I'm gonna get up on video for right because that's what I was like, as an amateur. It's a bit different as a professional detailer, much your orders camp, and so a lot more difficult. But I think yeah, I think there's too much especially SPC social media stuff on highlight reels and stuff like that. Very few people post failures. So if you if everyone posted their failures, there'll be a lot more failures and With their successes and but that's that's how life works. You look at Elon Musk, who owns Tesla, he's had numerous businesses fail and things fail and constantly and he's so successful. He's just, he's a sort of man who has that I'm gonna take over the universe mentality and sort of another person I look up to, because because of that, you know, he started with SpaceX, he sending things to Mars and stuff like that. And he's, and he's had loads of failures in the past and I think whatever it is, anyone wants to do, young or old, I think it's just keep going. And that is literally if you're going through hell keep going. And it will be it will make the victory all the sweeter in the end, especially with boxing. You get a lot of people who fail early on, and then they eventually win all told, George goes I was saying earlier, I'm sure he looks back on his career very fond of it now, as hard as it was for him and his family. It's the successes there and now he's he'll be remembered. For forever, because he took that last year, it had three attempts and he kept going, he kept going. And I think it just makes you, you only learn from failures. And it's as simple as that.

Simone Thomas : 45:10

No, it's true. It does they say, isn't it failure makes you stronger. Yeah. And you know, the bad times do as well. So, obviously, you've got your fight on Friday, the seventh of August. Once that's happened, and, you know, we've got the outcome that we want you to have. What's the next thing for you? What's kind of your next plan?

Chris Billam-Smith : 45:27

At the beginning, this shows, oh, I was gonna have a fight down here in Bournemouth the bit, I'd love to do that. But for its defence, my belt or fight for another belt, I'd love to headline in my hometown. I don't think we've ever have a televised boxing show in Bournemouth professional boxing show. So I'd love to make history and do that. And I think it'd be great for the town. Obviously sports quite big at the moment with the football team currently not doing great but they obviously they are when you look at the grand scheme of things of five years in the Premier League, even if the season doesn't end as as we'd like. It to It's still an unbelievable feat that they've done as a club so sports obviously big down here in you've got other athletes down in such as Georgia all the golfers she's you know, she went in all sorts of world range travel the world playing golf and she's a local girl you have plenty of other people's for Alice ties para Olympian swimmer she's she's doing very well local girl and I think the sport as a whole in Bournemouth hasn't ever been as big as it is now. I think the football team got a lot to thank for that. But it just goes to show that you can achieve things from being rounder, and I'd love to make some history with bringing that TV show down here to whether that's towards the end of the year or next year but it's definitely going to happen and that that for me would be be great next, but when it comes to titles, the British titles that would love to win that very prestigious belt. There was Freddy Mills, who's a famous boxer from Bournemouth, he won a world title and he had that belt he was out there come off tire, which is what I've got now. It's called British Empire total at the time but he's, you know, I'd love to go on and win belts that he won and that'd be really cool to have you know, he's the only other boxer from from Bournemouth that was had any success in it so i'd love that and start setting a bit of a trend and getting getting more more boxes or more sports and then athletes and women. Yeah, just inspiring inspiring people down here that'd be great. And I think you have in a boxing showdown he will do that.

Simone Thomas : 47:31

And hopefully you'll be the one that will bring it because you do deserve it. So fingers crossed for that. Thank you for today. It's been absolutely incredible. I wish you all the luck for Friday the seventh of August not that you need it. But for those that don't follow you on social media you on Facebook and on Instagram.

Chris Billam-Smith : 47:50

Yeah, what's your name? Yeah, mom. Well, I have a Facebook app for for books but I don't really on Facebook much anymore but Instagram Chris Berlin. Same with Twitter. It's just that Crispin Yeah, so From follow the journey and see me sweating a lot and

Simone Thomas : 48:04

knock out on the seventh.

Chris Billam-Smith : 48:07

That's the plan. So, as always, but yeah, that's us. That's what we'll be aiming for. Yeah,

Simone Thomas : 48:12

well, best of luck. You know, the next few weeks to stay safe with everything that's kind of going on and enjoy the rest of today. You probably want to catch up on sleep into some food down. You ready for the weeks ahead. But no, it's been fantastic to have you on the show. And obviously I look forward to catching up with you after the fight. Thank you Take care. Bye. Thanks for listening. If you want to send me your questions, emails Do you can follow me and the podcasts and social media. You can find me on Simone Thomas wellness. I'm also Facebook Simone Thomas wellness world and I just really love to hear from you.