Chris Billam-Smith has earned the right to call the shots — and he's not about to sit in a waiting room for anyone.

After dismantling Ryan Rozicki in brutal fashion, the Bournemouth cruiserweight has made his position clear: he wants to fight again before 2025 is out, and if Jai Opetaia isn't ready to step up, then someone else will get the opportunity instead. Simple as that.

Don't mistake patience for weakness

There's a version of this story where Billam-Smith quietly holds out, keeps the Opetaia rematch simmering on the back burner, and positions himself as the loyal, long-game operator. That's not the version he's chosen.

He won't wait around. His words, not ours — but we're completely with him on it.

This is a fighter in form, coming off a performance that left very little room for debate about where he stands at cruiserweight level. Rozicki, for all his punching power, was dealt with in the kind of manner that reminds you CBS belongs at the top of the division. You don't bank that sort of momentum and then let it bleed away over months of negotiation and schedule shuffles on the other side of the world.

Opetaia holds WBA gold and the rematch carries genuine weight — that fight still matters, and nobody's pretending otherwise. But the cruiserweight division isn't short of credible challengers, and Billam-Smith clearly knows that sitting idle helps nobody except the people who'd rather he cooled off before they have to face him.

What this actually means for the rematch

Here's where it gets interesting. Billam-Smith drawing a line publicly doesn't kill the Opetaia fight — if anything, it applies exactly the right kind of pressure. Promoters respond to leverage, and a fighter who's proven he can headline, perform brutally well, and fill a card isn't in a weak position.

If Opetaia's camp need time — whether that's injury, recovery, scheduling, or something else — then CBS fighting again this year doesn't necessarily close the door. It keeps him sharp, keeps him relevant, and frankly keeps him paid. What it does tell Opetaia's side is that they're not dealing with someone who'll be managed into passivity.

The wider picture here matters too. Boxing's promotional landscape is shifting — [the emergence of outfits like Zuffa Boxing](/getohedz/boxing/us-star-stevenson-signs-with-zuffa-boxing) is changing how top-level fighters think about leverage and timing. Fighters who demonstrate they can operate independently, who don't depend on one specific fight to stay relevant, come to the table stronger. Billam-Smith gets that.

There's also something worth saying about what it means to be a British fighter performing at this level. CBS has done it the hard way — built a following, taken difficult fights, delivered when it mattered. The Bournemouth faithful didn't back him for years just to watch him pace about waiting for a phone call from Australia.

Our take

Fight Opetaia when Opetaia is ready and the terms are right. But don't hang about. CBS is in the form of his career, the British boxing public is paying attention, and there's no prize for loyalty to a timeline someone else controls.

Get the fight made before the year's out — whoever that's against. The man's earned that much.