@DeclanTaylor87
RINGSIDE
“REF?!” Chris Billam-Smith shouted with outstretched arms as Mateusz Masternak and his corner loitered in the ring as the eighth round started. “Ref!” he said again.
But it soon dawned on the local favourite that they were not merely taking their time but instead deciding against carrying on this spirited and not unexpected assault on his position as the WBO cruiserweight belt-holder.
As Mark Lyson waved his arms to signal the finish, the tension in Billam-Smith’s shoulders immediately dropped as he marched to the neutral corner to salute his fans. At that point, the overwhelming emotion for both the hero and his supporters was relief.
For a while it had looked like the Billam-Smith story as we
