According to Sky Sports, Lawrence Okoli (19-0, 14 KOs) and Chris Billam-Smith (17-1, 12 KOs) agreed to fight on May 27 at the Ben Shalom tournament in Bournemouth, Billam Smith's hometown. At stake in the meeting will be Okoli's WBO cruiserweight title.
This will be the fourth World Boxing Organization title defense for the undefeated Okoli. Billam-Smith has only one defeat, which he suffered in 2019 from Richard Riakpore.
When asked if the hostile atmosphere and the whistling from Chris Billam-Smith's home fans would affect him, Lawrence Okoli replied: "No, I was whistled in my last fight too, so it's fine."
