Never mind the bruising 12 rounds with Gilberto Ramirez, a broken hand, the multiple stitches in the wound over his left eye or the loss of the WBO cruiserweight title which was confirmed by his defeat to the Mexican. The worst pain of all for Chris Billam-Smith was waiting for him back home in Bournemouth.

And unlike the 6ft 2in southpaw from Mexico, his assailant was actually only around three feet tall and is currently unable to tie his own shoelaces,

“I think that was the worst feeling I had,” Billam-Smith told The Ring. “I was at home on the Monday trying to get some sleep when my wife brought our son Frank back home from nursery.

“I was waiting for him inside the house and all I wanted to do was hug him… but he wouldn’t cuddle me. I just thought ‘oh shit’.

“He took one look at my face said ‘no daddy, I don’t like those ouchies’. After the fight, all day Sunday, the Monday, I was just thinking ‘I can’t wait to get home to give Frank a cuddle’ but then when he sees me he wouldn’t do it.

“It was brutal, that was the worst thing out of all of it. It went on for a few days - he was saying ‘no daddy, I don’t like your ouchies’ and I just thought ‘yeah well I don’t like them either!’

“That was almost like another kick in the teeth. Do you know what I mean? The straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Like many boxers, providing for his young family is why Billam-Smith does what he does but he was quick to point out the stark reality of losing to Ramirez.

A victory to unify his WBO title with Zurdo's WBA belt would have almost certainly set-up a money-spinning showdown with Ring Magazine and IBF champion Jai Opetaia. Instead, it is Ramirez who is pursuing that fight while CBS has to plot another route back to the top.

“From a family standpoint,” Billam-Smith explains. “And a financial standpoint, a lot changes.

“The difference in purse is crazy in terms of percentages. If I had won, I would have got a massive increase in purse for my next fight, which might have been another unification. But actually because of the defeat, I got a massive drop in purse from what I got for the fight in Riyadh. So if you consider that total swing, it’s a big one.

“But I lost. It’s my responsibility, so I have to take accountability for it so I have to go on. But, at the same time, I think there was something deep down in me that knew I just could not have given any more on the night. I didn’t have any energy left in there. I had nothing more to give.

“So there are no regrets on that. Now it’s about regrouping and going again.”

Billam-Smith will return for the first time since that bloody night in Riyadh when he faces Brandon Glanton, who holds an identical 20-2 record as him, as part of The Ring’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves event at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26. Given he has boxed at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth and Selhurst Park, London this will be his third outdoor stadium fight in five outings. He won the previous two.

“I do love a stadium,” he says. “We thought that April was a good time to get back out on a big card like this with lots of eyes on it. It’s a tough test for me, he’s No.5 with the WBC and I’m No.4 so whoever wins this is right in line for a shot.

“I didn’t think about retiring at all. I didn’t think about boxing for a while because I was in a bit of a state but I knew I still wanted to box.

“I've weirdly got a new motivation. I think I've got set in my ways of things that worked for me and so I didn't have to iron out my weaknesses as much because my strength would overpower my weaknesses.

“I'd get away with a lot but it didn’t work against Ramirez. so I've come away from it and it's like ‘shit, I've got a lot of learning to do. So now it’s just about learning and improving. I need to be more well-rounded rather than just be tough, strong with a high work rate.

“I’m no longer world champion and it’s hard to hear people say ‘former’ now when they interview me. That’s always hard to take. But I know what I need to do to stop people saying that and start saying ‘two-time’ instead.”