Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) once again went up against his old foe Chris Eubank Jr, (33-3, 24 KOs) at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, on September 2. These two experienced fighters met in the ring on January 21 this year. After an even opening few rounds, Liam Smith took charge of the bout in round four.
After figuring out Eubank Jr. in the first three rounds, Smith stepped up the pace and caught his opponent with a huge left uppercut, which sent Eubank crashing to the canvas. He unsteadily made it to his feet before Smith ended the contest with a right hand straight to the head, which gave “Beefy” a stunning fourth-round TKO win. The Hove-born fighter – has since become insistent he was the victim of a stray elbow. Smith and Eubank Jr. seemed confident at the final press conference before this eagerly anticipated rematch.
Can Eubank Jr. gain revenge under the tutelage of his new coach, Brian “Bomac” McIntyre? Or will the experienced Liverpudlian once again defeat his old foe?
Chris Eubank Jr. Reigns Supreme and Stops Liam Smith
Chris Eubank Jr. Defeats Liam Smith
The first round was a messy start with plenty of clinching, which saw Smith looking to impose his physicality. Eubank Jr. tried to settle and get behind the jab, but it was an even round overall. The second round followed in the same fashion as the first round, with Eubank edging it on work rate. He worked well behind the jab and seemed to be settling much better than the first fight.
Round three was impressive for Eubank as he landed some measured combinations against his Liverpudlian opponent. Smith still looked unworried at this point. Round four started well for the Hove-born fighter as he landed a beautifully timed uppercut, which knocked Smith down. The rest of the round was strong for Eubank as he picked his punches beautifully, as Smith struggled to deal with the variety of shots coming his way.
Another eventful round as Eubank trapped Smith against the ropes and threw a vicious barrage of punches to his head and body, which forced the ref to take a good look. The Liverpool fighter bobbed and weaved, using his experience to spin away from the ropes. Despite Eubank’s dominance, it looked like he expended a lot of energy there. Rounds six and seven were again dominant from Eubank. His jab continued to be impressive, but he continuously landed accurate combinations, which again troubled his Liverpudlian opponent.
The eighth round was quieter, but Eubank again looked quicker to the punch, with Smith almost a sitting target, being picked off at will. As we entered into the Championship rounds, it was Eubank putting on a clinic as he continued his impressive mixing of punches and angles throughout the ninth round. Smith appeared to be struggling with his right ankle for a few rounds, but Eubank has simply been much the better fighter tonight.
The tenth round bell sounded, and Eubank pounced, landing some beautiful body shots while hitting his opponents head at will. Smith beat the count, but his opponent smelt revenge and attacked, landing a barrage of unanswered punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight, awarding Chris Eubank Jr. the revenge he craved.
Post Fight Quotes
In the post-fight interview, when asked if tonight was about revenge, Eubank was unanimous in his response: “It had to be. I had to beat him.”
Eubank Jr. was full of respect for his opponent: “I respect Liam. He fought until the last second.” When asked about his new training team, Chris said: “They all added percentages.”
Eubank Jr. was then asked about what comes next, and alongside calling out Kell Brook and Conor Benn, he said: “I wanna fight GGG.“
Liam Smith was frank and honest in his assessment about what went wrong for him tonight: “I think the weight killed me a bit after the injury. I just felt flat. I couldn’t move my feet and when I did move my feet back I rolled my ankle.“
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