Chris Billam-Smith faces Cheavon Clarke at Zuffa Boxing 12 on November 7th

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Former amateur rivals Chris Billam-Smith and Cheavon Clarke will meet atop Zuffa Boxing’s first London show on November 7th at Copper Box Arena. Billam-Smith (22-2, 14 KO), who managed two defenses of the WBO cruiserweight title before coughing it up to “Zurdo” Ramirez, is already having a banner year after beating the living dogsh*t out of Ryan Rozicki this past June. “The Gentleman” is still going strong at 36 years old, and while I don’t think anyone considers him in the same tier as Zuffa cohort Jai Opetaia or division invader David Benavidez, he remains one of the better 200-pounders in the game. The same can’t really be said for Clarke (12-2, 9 KO), whose late pro start necessitated a mad dash through the ranks that Leonardo Mosquea and Viddal Riley halted in its tracks. His career looked over after a nasty knockdown at the hands of Jack Massey on that same Zuffa 7 show, but roared back for a comeback finish to keep the dream alive. He does sport two wins over Billam-Smith in the amateur ranks, so he’s got that going for him, at least. Also on tap is a quality light heavyweight showdown pitting Zach Parker (26-2, 18 KO) against amateur standout Umar Dzambekov (14-0, 10 KO). Parker arguably deserved a win over Joshua Buatsi last November and Dzambekov started his Zuffa career with a two-round demolition of Ahmed Elbiali.

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A domestic showdown between top UK cruiserweights helms Zuffa’s trip to London in November