Nobody showed up to bid for Billam-Smith vs. Fress
Nobody showed up to bid for Billam-Smith vs. Fress
By Scott Shaffer
13/10/2025
By Scott Shaffer
13/10/2025
With WBA/WBO cruierweight champion Gilberto Ramirez injured, on October 9th, the WBO held a purse bid for an interim cruiserweight title fight between former champion Chris Billam-Smith of England and Roman Fress. However, no promoters entered a bid in the auction process. As a result, the WBO Championship Committee has decided to reduce the minimum bid requirement from $300,000 to $150,000 in hopes to attract a promoter to stage the fight. The second purse bid has been scheduled for Thursday, October 16th with forrmer champion Istvan "Koko" Kovacs presiding. Billam-Smith is 21-2 and held the WBO 200-pound title in 2023 and 2024. He lost it in a unification bout to the now-injured Ramirez. Since then, Billam-Smith won a bruising comeback fight against the respected Brandon Glanton. Fress is 23-1 with a resume full of opponents who had good records but are mostly unknown.
PRIOR BOXINGTALK COVERAGE
OCT. 1, 2025: With WBO/WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez injured, the WBO announced in August that it would sanction an interim championship in the division. The sanctioning body issued a letter directing former champion Chris Billam-Smith of England and Roman Fress, who fights out of Germany, to begin a twenty-day negotiation period. That period has now expired without a deal being reached, so the WBO has scheduled a purse bid for October 2nd. The split will be 50/50 between the boxers, but if the fight is placed in the home country of one of them, the visitor's share will be increased to 60%. Billam-Smith is 21-2 and held the WBO title in 2023 and 2024. He lost the title in a unification bout with Ramirez. Since that loss, Billam-Smith won a bruising comeback fight against the respected Brandon Glanton. Fress is 23-1 with a resume full of opponents who had good records but are mostly unknown.
AUG. 27, 2025: Last week, the WBO announced its intent to create an interim championship in the cruiserweight division. The sanctioning body issued a letter directing former champion Chris Billam-Smith of England and Roman Fress, who fights out of Germany, to begin a thirty-day negotiation period. Billam-Smith (pictured) is 21-2 and held the WBO title in 2023 and 2024. He lost the title in a unification bout to Gilberto Ramirez, who is now injured. Since that loss, Billam-Smith won a bruising comeback fight against the respected Brandon Glanton. Fress is 23-1 with a resume full of opponents who had good records but are mostly unknown.
