NEW WORLD CHAMP BILLAM-SMITH: COURAGE & CLASS RUNS DEEP

A nasty bout of diarrhoea couldn't stop Bournemouth man taking Okolie's crown

- CHRIS MCKENNA

CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH said nothing was going to stop him in his pursuit of his world title dream but a dose of diarrhoea almost did.

The new WBO cruiserweight champion was drinking glass after glass of a supplement to rehydrate after he came down with a bug on the Tuesday of fight week.

But it did not stop him ripping the belt away from old gym mate Lawrence Okolie in a dramatic, if ugly, clash at the home of his beloved AFC Bournemouth.

Billam-Smith got the nod on the cards after he floored Okolie three times and the defending champion had two points deducted for excessive holding.

Inflicting Okolie's first defeat as a pro was an upset, but for Billam-Smith it was the reward for a remarkable rise which started with trainer Shane McGuigan in 2017.