Chris Billam-Smith Declines Fight with Roman Fress

WBO President Gustavo Olivieri has announced that the team of former world champion Chris Billam-Smith has not confirmed participation in a fight against Roman Fress for the interim WBO Cruiserweight title.

According to Olivieri, the WBO will now move on to selecting the next eligible contender and issue a ruling accordingly.

In the organization’s rankings, following Chris Billam-Smith and Roman Fress, the next in line is Umar Salamov.

Earlier, the first purse bid was declared void due to a lack of offers. At the second bid, SES Promotions won with a proposal of $156,931 — the only bid submitted.

Chris Billam-Smith (21-2, 13 KOs) last fought in April, defeating Brandon Glanton by unanimous decision.

In May, Roman Fress (23-1, 13 KOs) scored a unanimous decision victory over Michael Seitz.