Billam-Smith: "The Helmet Split from the Force of the Blow"

WBO cruiserweight champion (up to 90.7 kg) British Chris Billam-Smith (19-1, 13 KOs) shared his experiences sparring with former unified heavyweight champion and WBA super heavyweight champion David Haye.

"Probably the strongest punches among those I've sparred with belong to Daniel Dubois and David Haye. David actually split my helmet during a sparring session, although the blow itself didn't cause me any harm.

He hit me with three very strong punches. I thought my helmet had come undone, but actually, it had split from the force of the blow.

I went back to my coach and asked, 'Can you fix my helmet?' And he said, 'No, I can't.' He realized the helmet had split along the seam, and I had to borrow someone else's for the rest of the sparring session.

Those two were active heavyweights at the time, so apparently, they hit me harder than anyone," Billam-Smith said.

Haye retired in 2018. The final two fights of his career were against Tony Bellew, who knocked David out in the 11th and 5th rounds.