Chris Billam-Smith reveals missing baby boy for weeks is most painful boxing sacrifice in hurt business

CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH says leaving baby boy Frank for training camp is harder than other brutal sacrifices he has made in his boxing career.

The 31-year-old Bournemouth cruiserweight has a homecoming Battle on the Beach against Isaac Chamberlain on Saturday, at his local International Centre arena.

CBS is the European and Commonwealth cruiserweight championCredit: Getty

But he has spent his training camp up in East London, slogging away at Shane McGuigan’s Leyton gym, away from his nine-week old boy and wife Mia.

And the 15-1 ace, known as ‘The Gentleman’ reckons the weeks away are tougher than any sparring session, early-morning run, depressing diet or defeat he has ever faced.

“I have had to drag myself away every Monday to Friday to focus on training and it’s been really hard,” he told SunSport.

“Because he is so young, everytime I go home it feels like I have got a new child because he has changed and grown so much.

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“People always talk about boxing being the ultimate sport for making sacrifices, the strict lifestyle, cutting weight, punishing your body but all of these things feel like nothing now, compared to losing time away from my wife and child.

“Now it feels like a serious sacrifice, now it really hurts but it also means I am giving camp absolutely everything, because the sacrifice would not be worth it if I wasn’t improving in the ring and then improving their lives with a win on Saturday.”

CBS pulled sickies and overnighters to watch his indie icons at his local BIC arena, so knows he has big desert boots to fill at the top of the bill.

The European and Commonwealth champ lied his way out of school to get tickets to a 2006 Arctic Monkeys gig and queued overnight to see Oasis two years later.

CBS aka The Gentleman is a star student of trainer Shane McGuiganCredit: Getty

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Now it’s his name topping the poster – up against the Brixton 28-year-old – and the memories of his schoolboy antics around the venue are flooding back.

“Me and my mates queued outside the BIC overnight when the Oasis tickets went on sale,” he told SunSport. “We were second in the queue and went both nights.

“I used to go swimming there growing up but my first gig was the Arctic Monkeys when they were touring their first album.

“But I was still at school and my mum wouldn’t let me leave early to get the tickets, so I got another relative to act as my next of kin and call in to the school to give me permission to go home early with a fake illness and I got a bus straight down there to get in the queue.”

The VIP section will be packed with Bournemouth players past and present, including former goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and ex-manager and Sandbanks resident Harry Redknapp.

“I didn’t know that Harry was coming as well but that will be great,” CBS laughed.

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“Thankfully all the tickets were sold online so I haven’t had to do any of that extra work.

“The support from the town has been immense, old school friends I haven’t seen for years are coming, thankfully I don’t think I have too many enemies down here cheering against me.”

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk

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