LONDON — After successfully navigating his way through his make-or-break fight with Brandon Glanton in April, Chris Billam-Smith spent much of the summer on the road.

Whether it was managing a 7-a-side team of AFC Bournemouth legends during a football tournament in North Carolina or making the trip to New York to watch his close friend and stablemate Ellie Scotney further unify super bantamweight titles, “Coach Chris” spent some time away from his own training base.

But, as we approach the last days of summer, Billam-Smith is locking in for a busy end of year spell which will include both the arrival of his second son and, he hopes, the WBO interim cruiserweight title before 2025 is out.

His wife, Mia, is due in September, meaning Billam-Smith has yet to head back to Shane McGuigan’s Leyton, east London gym just yet. As reported by The Ring, the WBO has ordered a fight between its No. 1-ranked 200-pounder, Billam-Smith, and second-rated Roman Fress, given its champion, Gilberto Ramirez, is out with a shoulder injury.

The two teams have been ordered to begin negotiations and Billam-Smith believes it is a fight that will take place toward the end of the year, once his paternity leave is complete.

“We’ve got baby on the way in two weeks,” Billam-Smith told The Ring. “So, I need to be around for that to help support Mia. Obviously, I want to be there as well for the little man. I want to be here and be as present as I can. I’ll still be training and stuff, but there is just a lot going on in life. I need to be around for that and I’m staying fit when I’m at home at the moment, and I just need to keep pushing on really.

“I’ll pop up to Shane’s a few times here and there in September and then after that I’ll be looking to be in there full-time again from the end of September. That means, end of November, early December I can be prepared for.”

Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 2-ranked cruiserweight behind only champion Jai Opetaia and Ramirez, who beat him in Riyadh last year. The 35-year-old contender lost his WBO title to the Mexican that night and knows a defeat to Germany’s Fress (23-1, 13 KOs) would be a catastrophic blow to his hopes of ever winning a major title again.

The Bournemouth man therefore will approach their fight with the same application as he always does.

“I’ve known about Fress for a few years,” Billam-Smith said. “He’s got a decent record and his only defeat was a split decision. He’s won against a few unbeaten lads since then and has a good record. A decent all-rounder, decent boxer, well-schooled, super tough. It’s now a case of waiting to see if the fight gets made and then I’ll do more studying of him.”

Although his next opponent and route back to world title contention now seem clear, it is unclear on which platform Billam-Smith will do his fighting.

Billam-Smith is under contract with Boxxer, which has facilitated some of the biggest nights of his career, including the one in May 2023 when he beat Lawrence Okolie to win the world title at the home of his beloved AFC Bournemouth. But with their recent split with Sky and resulting deal with BBC, a number of Boxxer fighters, including Billam-Smith’s fellow cruiserweight Viddal Riley, have sought new pastures.

“I’m still in contract with Boxxer currently, but my last two fights haven’t been on Boxxer shows,” Billam-Smith said. “The Glanton fight at Tottenham was on The Ring and the Zurdo fight before that was on Golden Boy, so yeah, so there have been opportunities with other promoters.

“So, myself, my team, Ben Shalom and Boxxer have worked with other promoters putting my fights on, so there’s always that to play with. I think we’ve worked together really well in terms of working for the right opportunities for me and then providing those opportunities and helping me have the best fights in my career.”

Earlier this month, Boxxer announced a new deal with BBC, which will bring professional boxing back to its linear programming for the first time in two decades. Since the announcement, however, there have been few further details about dates or potential fights. And, while Billam-Smith would love to box on the BBC, he is not sure whether it will be viable given his plans.

“I don’t know what the budgets are on BBC or what sort of level fights they’re going to be looking at,” Billam-Smith said. “That’ll play a big factor in them being able to make certain fights, so it’s got to make sense for everyone. I guess we’ll just wait and see how it plays out, but as a team I know we’re in conversation with everyone we need to be in conversations with. The BBC would be a great platform to box on. But then again, Sky Sports have also been very good for me, and I've been really pleased with how everything’s gone on Sky Sports.

“Depending on what happens, if Sky Sports are still in boxing, then yeah, there might be an opportunity there. If not, BBC would also be great because you get a lot of eyes, a lot of exposure on BBC. I just need to focus on what I can control and that’s my boxing.”