Chris Billam-Smith and Ryan Rozicki met at the Sky Sports studios ahead of their June 6 showdown in Bournemouth, filmed for the latest episode of The Gloves Are Off. The two heavyweights faced off for the first time there as they prepared to meet live on Sky Sports.
Rozicki explained that he studies opponents during stare-downs, not to intimidate but to size up weakness. “When we’re staring down I just think about what I’m going to do to someone. I’m not trying to intimidate them,” he told Sky Sports, adding that he looks at facial structure and scars to learn where a fighter is vulnerable. “Scars will show what side he’s vulnerable on. You can see a lot… where they can’t see punches coming from, things like that.”
Billam-Smith, known as the “Gentleman,” remains composed before fights and says he doesn’t need mind games to perform. “Some people like to come and play mind games and a lot of time it comes from their own insecurities,” he said. “If they start trash-talking I think it comes from them feeling like they’re missing something. I don’t need to do that and it doesn’t make a difference on fight night.”
Rozicki makes his first UK appearance on June 6 and brings formidable power—20 of his 21 professional wins have come inside the distance. Billam-Smith is tough and experienced, expecting a hard contest. He believes he can win in several ways and cautions against letting the fight become a reckless slugfest: “I think he can only win one way and that’s me being too reckless and drawn into too much of a fight and trying to out-punch him.” He also warned that facing him will feel different to what Rozicki has seen before.
Their headline clash at the Bournemouth International Centre promises to be a physical, high-stakes heavyweight battle. Watch Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki live on Sky Sports on June 6.