CHRIS bravely battled on for eight rounds with a broken rib in his defeat to Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez their cruiserweight world title unification fight on Saturday.
BILLAM-SMITH in Mexican Ramirez added the WBO title to his WBA belt after winning 116-112, 116-112 and 116-113 on the judges' scorecards in Riyadh.
Ramirez took control from the early stages and caused a cut to the Briton's eye which worsened as the fight went on.
But Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom revealed Billam-Smith was also nursing a broken rib from as early as the fourth round.
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