Last updated September 5, 2024 – 4:14 p.m.
BBC Radio 5 Live's Steve Bunce Boxing Podcast will air in Bournemouth on September 12th.
Steve's guest is world cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith from Bournemouth.
This special live show will take place at the Vitality Stadium, home of AFC Bournemouth, where Chris won the WBO World title last year against then unbeaten champion Lawrence Okolie.
Chris is synonymous with his hometown and is a lifelong AFC Bournemouth fan – he regularly plays in front of his local fans and this event will mark another homecoming for “The Gentleman”, as he is known.
Steve Bunce said: “Ask people in Bournemouth 'do you know Chris Billam-Smith' and they will not only say 'yes, the boxer', but they will also tell you stories about Chris Billam-Smith.”
“They've seen him shopping, they've seen him in the market, they've seen him buying cotton candy for kids, they've seen him fighting, they saw him in the bar afterwards, they saw him at the train station on the way back from the press conference. They know all about him, which is really unusual.”
Billiam-Smith joins Steve to talk about his career so far, including what it was like early on in his boxing career and how, despite being a world champion, his rise is still often seen as an underdog story.
Steve added: “You can look at Chris’ career and how he’s travelled around the country and risen through the ranks fighting in places like Sheffield, Wembley, Glasgow, Manchester and all over London.
“Then suddenly in the summer of 2022 he’s back at a packed Bournemouth International Centre, winning the European title against a quality boxer in Isaac Chamberlain.
“He was the underdog. Then he won the world title against Lawrence Okolie outdoors at the Vitality Stadium and he was the underdog there too. And in his final title defence, at the Crystal Palace Ground, Sellerhurst Park, outdoors, on a cold, rainy night, he was the underdog.”
This is the sixth of five live boxing tours which have already taken place in Belfast, Cardiff, Cromer, Leeds and Liverpool.
Tickets for the Bournemouth event are free and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, and people can apply for up to two tickets via the BBC Shows and Tours website.
