The Arsenal goalkeeper swapped one of his match-worn shirts for a boxing glove with WBO champion Chris Billam-Smith
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale may not have got much use out of his gloves this season - but there is one glove that takes pride of place in his house.
The Arsenal and England keeper has found his chances in the Gunners starting XI limited this season after David Raya was signed on loan from Brentford.
But despite the lack of game time, Ramsdale still has a number of high profile fans from the world of sport - including World Cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith.
Billam-Smith is a huge Bournemouth fan and got to know Ramsdale when he was playing for the Cherries between 2017 and 2020.
Billam-Smith - who is nickname is The Gentleman - won the WBO title at the Vitality Stadium in May 2023 beating Lawrence Okolie in a domestic dust up and then went onto defend his title by stopping Polish fighter Mateusz Masternak in December.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
And Billam-Smith told FourFourTwo how he swapped one of his fight-worn gloves for a signed shirt with Ramsdale.
He said: “I asked Aaron (Ramsdale) what I had to do to get a shirt from him and he suggested I give him a glove from one of my fights.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
“So he came to the Isaac Chamberlain fight and so about three weeks later I gave him one of my gloves from that fight - I’m pretty sure it still had blood on it. And he gave me one of his shirts and signed it to me, so that’s pretty special.
“We have become good friends and I've been to see him at The Emirates a couple of times. I was in his box with his family for the 3-2 win over us in March 2023.
“It was bittersweet because I was gutted because we'd been beaten in the last minute, but I was so buzzing for him and his family. He's a legend.”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
And Billam-Smith revealed that if he were to follow in the footsteps of Ricky Hatton and Josh Warrington by having someone famous carry his belt into the ring for him then Ramsdale would be at the top of his list.
He added: “One of my mates called it very early in my career and said he wanted to carry my belt into the ring if I ever won a world title, I’m not sure if he really thought I would win one.
“From the world of football it would have to be Aaron. He has supported me and he was at my fight against Isaac Chamberlain and came into the dressing room.”
James Andrew is the editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing both the magazine and website. James is an NCTJ qualified journalist and began his career as a news reporter in regional newspapers in 2006 before moving into sport a year later. In 2011 he started a six year stint on the sports desk at the Daily Mail and MailOnline. James was appointed editor of FourFourTwo in December 2019. Across his career James has interviewed the likes of Franco Baresi, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham and Michael Owen. James has been a Fulham season ticket holder since the mid-1990s and enjoys watching them home and away, through promotion and relegation.
