Chris Billam-Smith reveals he turned down ‘life-changing money’ for Jai Opetaia ahead of Gilberto Ramirez fight

Chris Billam-Smith turned down “life-changing money” to box Jai Opetaia earlier this year, to make sure that when he does fight him, he beats him.

Opetaia is the formidable IBF cruiserweight world champion, with Bournemouth’s Billam-Smith the WBO titlist hoping to prove himself the top fighter in the division.

Billam-Smith believes he is on an eventual collision course with Australia’s Opetaia.

But first he faces WBA world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in a high-stakes unification on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.

The Briton could have boxed Opetaia earlier this year, in October, but chose the Ramirez unification instead.

“The issue with the Opetaia offer… they said October 12, and said they offered it 10 weeks out, and they said that’s long enough for a camp. It is, but I was in America on a family holiday for three-and-a-half weeks,” Billam-Smith told Sky Sports.

“It would have been a five or six-week camp for a unification fight,” the WBO champion explained. “They [said]: ‘It’s life-changing money’. It’s not about that. It’s about winning and preparing myself the best.

“I’ve been a professional my whole career, in terms of the way I deal with camps and do everything correct, so I didn’t want to shorten it for anyone – whether that’s an easy fight or a hard fight.

“I wouldn’t want to shorten the camp just because there’s some more money on the table. You get blamed either way. You get blamed for not taking a fight, because it’s ridiculous money, but then you also get blamed for shortening a camp and taking the money.

“I’ve always played the long game, I’ve always made sure I’m ready for the opportunities that come. And, like I said, I don’t want to shorten a camp for anyone.”

He is convinced the Opetaia fight will happen.

“Me against Opetaia is the fight that has been spoken about in the division – everyone sees it as No 1 and No 2. I want that fight to happen after my next fight,” Billam-Smith said. “That would be the ideal for me.

“All the champions are very respectable champions,” he added. “‘Zurdo [is] next and I do rate him very highly.”

A future fight with Opetaia does not overawe Billam-Smith, even though the Australian has impressed in his wins over Mairis Briedis, Jack Massey and others.

“Everyone just sees him as this monster who’s impossible to beat. And I’ve never seen him as that,” Billam-Smith said.

“Jack Massey is the second-best name on Opetaia’s record, on paper.

“At the moment, I don’t think ‘Zurdo’ is getting enough credit, because he hasn’t had many fights at cruiserweight and he beat [Arsen] Goulamirian who was old and inactive, but it was still a very, very good win. A very, very good win.

“Maybe his inactivity did affect him in that fight. But still a very, very good win and the way [Ramirez] did it was, he was very busy in that fight, he really let his hands go and had good variety.

“You’ve also got [WBC champion Noel] Mikaelian, who has had a really close fight with Briedis in the past. He’s really awkward.

“I think both of the other champions, in terms of ‘Zurdo’ and Noel Mikaelian, are very underrated.”

Watch Chris Billam-Smith’s world title unification with Gilberto Ramirez on Saturday live on Sky Sports Mix from 5pm