British WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith has found his opponent to stage his first title defense following his momentous victory over fellow Brit Lawrence Okolie in May of this year. Mateusz Masternak will be facing Billam-Smith across the ring on December 10 at the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth.

Chris Billam-Smith (18-1, 12 KO’s) will be defending the WBO title he won by beating Lawrence Okolie (19-1, 14 KO’s) on May 27 this year, marking it as his first world title defense.

For Mateusz Masternak (47-5, 31 KO’s), this will be his first world title opportunity in a career that has spanned a decade longer than Billam-Smith, who made his debut in 2017. Despite his lack of world title recognition, Masternak has more experience than the two competing fighters. This is not only because of his record of nearly fifty professional fights but also because he has faced some of the division’s best, even though it didn’t always result in success.

While Masternak is a worthy contender given his credentials and his current #5 position on the WBO cruiserweight rankings, uncertainty shrouds this match-up. Four cruiserweights rank above Masternak, particularly Richard Riakporhe (16-0, 12 KO’s), Billam-Smith’s British rival who handed the WBO champion his only loss [by split-decision] in 2019.

Richard Riakporhe’s claims of looking to get a world title opportunity after he pulled out of a world title bout against IBF and The Ring cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (23-0, 18 KO’s) leaves only WBC champion Badou Jack (28-3-3, 17 KO’s) for him to fight. WBA cruiserweight champion Arsen Goulamirian (27-0, 18 KO’s) is said to be in negotiations with Cuban contender Yuniel Dorticos (26-2, 24 KO’s), while he has already passed on the opportunity to face Opetaia.

A match between Billam-Smith and Riakporhe would have made the most sense, with both being British, having fought already, and both currently signed to the same promotion, Boxxer. The inability to produce this potential match-up between two of the United Kingdom’s greatest cruiserweights deprives the British public of a pivotal fight and is another reminder of some of the issues that pervade the sport as matchmaking continues to be unpredictable and oftentimes disappointing.

Nevertheless, Billam-Smith is facing a good fighter in Masternak, who is currently regarded as the best Polish cruiserweight in the world according to BoxRec and is further considered the eighth-best cruiserweight in the world by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.