The Englishman was given the task of headlining Zuffa Boxing’s first ever event outside America, and he rose to the occasion by becoming the first man to stop Rozicki after a seven-round firefight in Bournemouth.

But the Canadian, who refused to take a backward step despite getting picked off by Billam-Smith throughout, was pulled out by his corner after seven rounds with blood pouring into both his eyes.

It was a somewhat anticlimactic end to an incredible fight, but the decision was undoubtedly brilliant corner work with Rozicki, a huge Jack Dempsey fan, simply too tough for his own good. Although he was desperate to leave Bournemouth International Centre on his feet, he was advised to do so on a stretcher as a precaution.

For Billam-Smith, back in his hometown for the first time since December 2023, it was very much a difficult job done in style. Rozicki had never lost at cruiserweight and arrived with a reputation as one of the division’s biggest punchers after ending 20 his 21 wins inside the distance.

And now 35-year-old Billam-Smith can look forward to a potential fight with Opetaia, who is the other big-name cruiserweight currently signed with Zuffa. Dana White stood and applauded the Englishman for producing when the pressure was on.

Billam-Smith’s trainer, Shane McGuigan, said: “That’s the first Zuffa show in the UK on Sky Sports, and you got an amazing fight.

“I’ve never seen a puncher like that guy Rozicki in my life. As a friend and as a coach, it was horrible to sit there and watch, but Chris did what he had to do. He outlasted an extremely tough man.”

Rozicki had said during the build-up that he was never going to get a decision in Bournemouth, where Billam-Smith was backed by an always noisy contingent of loyal fans who have followed him up and down the country.

Instead, he said he would be going all out for the knockout, and he started as such, bringing the heat from the very first bell. But Billam-Smith kept his composure and landed with well-timed counters at every opportunity. Rozicki, refusing to take a backward step, was cut around the left eye and was given a warning for clear use of the head.

When he did it again with a minute gone in the second, referee Mark Lyson did not hesitate to deduct a point, much to the delight of the Bournemouth crowd, who had packed inside the BIC to watch their hometown hero.

By the end of the second, Rozicki’s breakneck speed had slowed, and he appeared to be feeling the early pace. Then, with a minute gone in the third, Billam-Smith rocked Rozicki to his boots with a huge uppercut and a finish looked imminent. As it proved, that was only the beginning.

Rozicki continued to pour forward and was leaning all over CBS, who had his back on the ropes, but he was the one getting picked off by uppercuts from the home favorite. However, he did find a home for two particularly accurate left hooks as the fourth drew to a close. He then followed it up with a right hand to cap his best round of the fight.

Rozicki’s gameplan was clear; walk through anything necessary in order to get his hands on Billam-Smith. By now, straight punches were at a premium as he instead decided to lead with left hooks to the head and rights to the body.

But Billam-Smith is battle-hardened as a result of wars with the likes of Isaac Chamberlain, Richard Riakporhe and former unified champion Gilberto Ramirez. Even so, McGuigan urged him to hold his shape better in the break between the fifth and sixth.

However, the round started just as all the others had, with Rozicki marauding forward and Billam-Smith taking refuge with his back against the ropes and working from there. Rozicki, both eyes cut, was not hard for CBS to find and the crowd roared as their man unloaded with nine clean shots in a row against Rozicki, who left his chin out in the air in a scarcely believable show of machoism.

Rozicki simply refused to buckle as Billam-Smith landed with countless hard right hands and left hooks throughout the sixth. Given the damage to his face and his unwavering insistence on stomping forward, Rozicki looked almost zombie-like as he was pummeled with another flurry from Billam-Smith as the seventh round ended.

But that final onslaught from the home favorite proved to be decisive as he was pulled out by his corner before the eighth could start.

McGuigan added: “Chris loves a tear up no matter where he is, but when he’s in the BIC it’s even worse. I think he had to fight that guy that way. Chris took far too many punches but managed to get his own shots off. He does clever stuff on the inside and made it count in the end.”

Chev Clarke illuminated his Zuffa Boxing debut with a stunning come-from-behind victory over Jack Massey.

The Jamaica-born southpaw looked down and out as he was dropped twice in the fourth round but somehow managed to hold on to hear the bell. Then he regained his footing in the fifth and sixth before closing the show himself in the seventh. The official time of the stoppage was 1:24.

These British cruiserweights met in the chief support to Chris Billam-Smith’s clash with Ryan Rozicki at Bournemouth International Centre in what was Zuffa’s first event outside the United States. Incidentally, both Massey and Clarke had beaten “CBS” in the amateurs.

But while the Bournemouth favourite has managed to win a world title as a professional, Massey and Clarke are both still in the hunt and knew that this clash was crucial to those hopes.

It looked as though Massey, the taller, rangier of the two, was going to register an emphatic victory after controlling the distance and landing the more eye-catching shots. His big breakthrough came with 1:12 left of the fourth when he timed a right hand over Clarke’s southpaw jab.

Clarke jumped up quickly but there was still a minute left of the round, and Massey swarmed all over him. A left uppercut dropped his opponent again, but up he climbed once more. He managed to cling on for the remaining 30 seconds of the round but stumbled back to his corner.

At that point, it seemed like the writing was on the wall.

However, Massey landed just four punches in the fifth, and shipped a big right hand from Clarke, who had somehow averted his crisis and regained a foothold in the fight. By the sixth, Clarke was in orthodox and boxing well, up on his toes, as Massey struggled to find the sort of success he had fashioned early on.

Then, with 40 seconds gone in the seventh, Clarke landed with a huge overhand right that made Massey crumble. This time it was the Manchester man who clambered back to his feet, but there would be no escape for him. Clarke went straight back to work and forced referee Bob Williams to jump in.

After the fight, the 35-year-old Clarke could not even remember that he had been dropped twice. He said: “I came from nothing, man. When you come from nothing, you’ve always got something to fight for.”

Earlier, Billam-Smith’s close friend, stablemate and fellow Bournemouth native Lee Cutler got back to winning ways with a third-round stoppage of Aaron Sutton.

“Choas” Cutler had been out of the ring since his technical decision defeat to Sam Egginton in April of last year, which was halted early due to an accidental head clash.

And 14 months on, another injury caused an early finish, as Sutton’s shoulder popped out in gruesome fashion after he was downed by Cutler. The official time of the stoppage was 31 seconds of round three.

Cutler said: “It’s a shame what happened. I’ve seen it in sparring before. I’m sorry about that, I was robbed of a clinical victory. We move onto bigger and better things.”

Before that, former Cutler opponent Stephen McKenna also secured an early finish. The Irishman’s last outing ended in a majority decision defeat after 10 rounds back in December 2024, but he was determined to make up for lost time, seeing off Casey James Streeter in just 64 seconds.

In fact, the card was stacked with knockouts as all three of the six-rounders ended before the halfway point. Light-heavyweight Leon Hughes beat Mario Vergiev in three, while Sam Hickey and Alex MacMillan both got the job done in two. Dundee middleweight Hickey beat Todd Tompkins, while MacMillan, the promising welterweight from inside the McGuigan’s Gym, saw off Leo Fanthome.

The only heavyweight fight on the card went all 10 rounds as Brighton binman Harvey Dykes stood firm against 6-foot-9 two-time Olympic medalist Ivan Dychko.