‘They already got their eyes set on these bigger fights’: Ryan Rozicki says Chris Billam-Smith making mistake by looking past him

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LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 24: Chris Billam-Smith looks on ahead of the Cruiserweight fight between Chris Billam-Smith and Brandon Glanton during the Fatal Fury - Press Conference on April 24, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images

As Ryan Rozicki gets his ready for a June 6 fight with Chris Billam-Smith, Rozicki believes his opponent may be making the mistake of looking past the task at hand towards bigger opportunities down the line — namely a potential fight against Jai Opetaia. With Billam-Smith making it known he plans to with this upcoming fight and then target Opetaia, Rozicki says he just might be putting the cart before the horse.

“He’s just responding to questions but the way he’s responding shows me that they’ve already got their eyes set on Jai, they already got their eyes set on these bigger fights than me and I don’t think you should ever look past somebody like me. If he switches off for even a fraction of a second, then he’ll be switched off,” Rozicki said.

Should Rozicki be able to capitalize on this opportunity and beat Billam-Smith, he’ll be the one in line for bigger opportunities to come. That said, Billam-Smith denies the fact that he’s not focused on the upcoming fight and says fielding questions about the future serves as no real distraction as there’s an inherent psychological need to plan ahead.

As Billam-Smith goes on to say, planning for his immediate future helps provide added motivation for what he’s dealing with in the present, and that he can easily compartmentalize the two in order to stay focused. Either way, these two men will meet in the ring in a month from now and they’ll both have the opportunity to prove themselves right.

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