Usyk cruiserweight return talk has given Chris Billam-Smith something to work with. The former WBO cruiserweight world champion said on Sky Sports that Oleksandr Usyk's team is considering a move back down before the end of the Ukrainian's career, and that the ripple effects could clear his own route to Jai Opetaia.
Usyk cruiserweight return and what it costs Billam-Smith
Usyk was undisputed champion at cruiserweight before repeating the feat at heavyweight, where he beat Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois among others. A return to the division would put a top name back into a weight class Billam-Smith knows well.
Billam-Smith was blunt about the personal cost. "Probably it's fair to say it knocks me down a spot in the world rankings!" he said. He added that the move is good for the division, describing Usyk as "a huge name for the division that really probably has been the face of boxing, definitely in terms of achievement."
Benavidez, Opetaia and the opening Billam-Smith wants
Usyk would be expected to target David Benavidez, the current WBA and WBO cruiserweight titlist. If that fight is made, Benavidez would not be facing Opetaia next, and Opetaia — who has a December clash with Deontay Wilder — would most likely return to cruiserweight looking for an opponent.
That is the gap Billam-Smith is watching. "That definitely seems more doable now," he said. "I'm happy about that, because I think Benavidez would beat him and I always wanted to be the first man to beat Opetaia."
He does not expect Usyk to take a softer touch first. "I think the level he's been and the level he's at in terms of marketable fights, I think he'd go straight into a Benavidez fight, especially at his age now," Billam-Smith said, before joking that a dangerous interim bout against him is not something Usyk needs: "I think taking interim fight, especially dangerous ones, against me, he doesn't need to be doing."
He still allowed himself the longer view. "Not next, maybe if he beats Benavidez, I beat Opetaia, that's a nice little southpaw to warm up with before I go in with Usyk," he said.
Cheavon Clarke first for Billam-Smith
All of that depends on Saturday, when Billam-Smith fights Cheavon Clarke. Usyk, for his part, has not fought since beating Rico Verhoeven in May, according to the report.
Viddal Riley questions the drop back down
Viddal Riley, the European cruiserweight champion, told Sky Sports he reads the move as motivation rather than calculation. "Challenge. Purely challenge," Riley said. "He keeps hearing: 'This guy's a monster, this guy's a monster' and then there's a part of him that just wants to show people: no, he's not a monster. I'm the guy. I've always been the guy."
Riley warned that the drop carries risk. "I think it's a lot of ego involved and it could backfire. It could backfire. People don't really go to heavyweight, come back down and look the same," he said. "I don't like to see the greats and the OGs do things like that because you're letting the goalposts move and trying to keep up when you've achieved everything you need to achieve." He conceded the attention helps: "But it's still good for me and the division because we get spoken about more."
Analysis: what changes in the division
The practical effect is a traffic jam at the top of cruiserweight. Benavidez holds two belts, Opetaia is expected back in the weight after Wilder, and Usyk would arrive with the biggest profile of the three. Billam-Smith's path runs through Clarke first, then likely Opetaia — and only then does the name he keeps being asked about come into view.
The original report is from skysports.com.