Apparently, Chris Billam-Smith has other plans.

A few days after finding out about a winning bid for his WBO interim cruiserweight title fight against Germany’s Roman Fress, Boxxer, the promoter of England’s Billam-Smith, failed to notify the sanctioning body of his participation by its deadline. Gustavo Olivieri, president of the WBO, announced on X on Monday night that it will move on to the next available contender and rule accordingly.

SES Promotions was the sole bidder for the Billam-Smith-Fress fight last week, putting up $156,921.

According to the WBO’s rules, Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs) was entitled to 60 percent of that purse ($94,152.60) because he is the No. 1 contender. The second-ranked Fress (23-1, 13 KOs) would’ve earned 40 percent ($62,768.40).

Next in line, and most likely to get the call, would be third-ranked Umar Salamov (32-2, 24 KOs).

If Russia’s Salamov accepts the opportunity, his fight against Fress could take place on January 14. According to Olivieri’s previous announcement, three German cities lead the pack in terms of the potential location for that bout – Magdeburg, Chemnitz and Vechta.

The WBO approved a fight for its interim championship because cruiserweight champ Gilberto Ramirez is recovering from shoulder surgery. Mexico’s Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) won that belt from Billam-Smith, whom he beat by unanimous decision 11 months ago in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.