CRUISERWEIGHT Chris Billam-Smith was happy to welcome global superstar Ellie Goulding into the Team CBS fold – and hoped her inclusion would boost his merchandise sales!

The Bournemouth puncher got the opportunity to meet the world-famous singer-songwriter after she had trained with his coach Shane McGuigan at the historic 5th Street Gym.

World-famous Goulding, who has more than 33 million followers and likes on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook combined, donned a Team CBS t-shirt and posed for a picture with McGuigan after the session in Miami.

Billam-Smith, who was also put through his paces by his trainer at the historic venue – once graced by the likes of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard – said meeting with the renowned musician had been a great experience.

He told the Daily Echo: “She needed a spare t-shirt, so Shane gave her one of mine – she is now part of Team CBS.

“We are going to try to flog some more t-shirts off the back of it!

“Her and Shane got in touch with each other as they have spoken before. They had been meaning to do a session for a while.

“I was getting ready for my own session and we had a little chat, she seemed a nice lady.

“She has done a bit of boxing over the years and Shane was training her just before we trained.

“She is a nice girl. She punched quite a bit and was really good. I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know how much she had done before.”

Formerly of Poole ABC, Billam-Smith is set to return to the ring for his eighth professional contest on Saturday.

Like one of Goulding’s famous tracks, Billam-Smith has left a number of his opponents starry eyed, with six wins inside the scheduled distance.

The mandatory challenger for the Commonwealth title is set to face off against Kent Kauppinen at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth.

And ‘The Gentleman’ believes feeling the burn Stateside helped keep his mind fresh.

“I knew we were going to be training there (5th Street Gym) so I was excited for it.

“With all its history of Muhammad Ali training there, everyone has seemed to have done training sessions there over the years.

“Shane knows the guy who runs it now and it was a good experience. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they have sparring days and people just turn up.

“As a pro, it was a new experience going into other people’s gyms and sparring them. Usually people come to us for sparring.

“I sparred a lad out there who had won the American Golden Gloves Championship and has Olympic trials. I also sparred an Italian lad who was 14-0 with 13 knockouts at a lighter weight. I got some good work in.

“It was absolutely boiling in there, it was hard work even doing pads.”

Ahead of his fourth professional hometown bout, Billam-Smith revealed he had made a couple of minor adjustments.

“I didn’t feel like I performed as well as I could have in my last fight, so I want to put that right and end the year with a bang and a really good performance,” he added.

“We have done a few things differently. I am trying to be a bit livelier on my feet and we will hopefully see a bit more energy in this fight with regards to moving my feet.”