The same venue and matchup provided a very different ending for the second act.
Chris Eubank Jr. not only avenged the lone stoppage defeat but offered perhaps the best performance of his career in a brutally one-sided, tenth-round stoppage of Liverpool’s Liam Smith. Seven months after suffering a stunning fourth-round knockout, Eubank returned to the scene of the crime to twice floor Smith.
An ensuing attack forced referee Kevin Parker to stop the bout at 1:45 of the tenth round in their Sky Sports Box Office main event Saturday evening at AO Arena in Manchester, England.
“It had to be,” Eubank said of his revenge-fueled victory. “I had no other choice. There’s too many other big fights out there for me that the fans want to see and that I have to be involved in.”
Significant changes were made by Eubank following his stunning defeat at this very location in January. Chief among them was his enlisting the services of Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre, best known for his work with pound-for-pound king Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford and who is now undoubtedly the frontrunner for 2023 Trainer of the Year.
Ironically, the change was made possible due to several delays by Smith who postponed their scheduled June 17 date due to a back injury and again on July 1. The extended delay did not at all help the former WBO junior middleweight titlist, who was never in the fight on Saturday.
The move was viewed by Saturday’s victor as more of a finishing touch than a needed overhaul.
“I’m not gonna lie, what happened tonight was supposed to happen in January,” insisted Eubank who was ahead early in their first bout before he was dropped twice and rescued by referee Victor Loughlin in the fourth round. “Like I said, it wasn’t my night. I trained hard for that fight, I trained hard for this fight. The focus was always there.”
Eubank employed a jab and grab approach in the opening round. The second-generation boxer from Brighton never allowed Smith the opportunity to uncork his offense in the first three rounds, though the constant grappling drew the ire of Parker who warned both boxers to keep it clean. Eubank let his hands go in the closing seconds, not landing much but at least the sign of a forthcoming committed attack.
Cleaner action was offered in round two. Eubank doubled up on his jab and looked to land his left uppercut. Smith landed his jab over Eubank’s right hand and inched forward but was not presented with the opportunity to get off his power shots. The former titlist managed a right hand which was immediately met with a clinch. Eubank landed a right hand and followed with a forearm push to send Smith to the canvas, which was accurately waved off by Parker.
Eubank pawed with a left hook early in round three but found greater success with a right to the body and an uppercut upstairs. Smith struggled to adjust to the busier work rate offered by Eubank, who threw uppercuts with confidence and also let loose with his left hooks. Smith appeared to injure his ankle, which he continued to favor for the balance of the fight.
“I couldn’t move my feet,” Smith admitted afterward. “When I did, I rolled my ankle. It was just, fuckin’, one of them things. Chris was the better man tonight.”
A massive role reversal from the first fight was offered in round four. The previous fateful round from January provided the first big moment of the rematch for Eubank, who sent Smith to the canvas courtesy of a right uppercut. Smith caught a break as the referee took a considerable amount of time to collect his dislodged gum shield and bring it to his corner.
Eubank smelled blood in the water and unloaded early in round five. Smith was trapped along the ropes as Eubank launched a volley of power shots, including a left hook to the body and right hand to the chin. Smith managed to block or slip most of the incoming but flirted with disaster as the referee gave him a long, hard work during that sequence. Smith attempted to rally back midway through but was unable to land anything of consequence.
Any concerns of punching himself out were alleviated as Eubank immediately seized control in round six. A steady jab by the 33-year-old kept Smith at arm’s length and on the defensive throughout rounds six and seven. Eubank connected with a right hand up top and immediately followed with a left hook to the body in the final minute of the seventh.
The one-way affair continued in round eight. Eubank enjoyed repeat success with his uppercut as he absorbed the ringside instructions from McIntyre while he pumped his jab with confidence. More of the same was offered in round nine, though with a touch more grappling from Smith who simply had nothing to offer.
Eubank emphatically closed the show in style in round ten. Smith was trapped against the ropes as a swarm of punches eventually sent him to the canvas. He beat the count but Eubank refused to let him off the hook. Another flurry on the opposite side of the ring left Smith defenseless to end the fight.
Smith’s victory lap officially came to a halt. The loss snapped a four-fight win streak as he fell to 33-4-1 (20KOs).
“Everything went wrong from start to finish,” admitted Smith. “I was just flat from the start. The weight just killed me after my injury. I was just flat from the get-go. Chris was sharp. That’s just it, I don’t really have much else to say.
“Chris was the better man tonight. I show up when I win, I’ll take my defeat when I lose.”
The final punch stats reflected the one-sided dominance by Eubank and lack of any success by Smith.
Eubank (33-3, 24KOs) was credited with landing 193-of-580 total punches (33.3%) as he breathed new life into his career.
“I threw so many punches, the lettering on my trunks fell off,” Eubank quipped before he honored his countryman. “Liam is a warrior. I respect his whole team, his family, his brothers, his father. He didn’t give up and fought to the last second. Big up to Liam.”
Smith landed just 33-of-132 total punches (25%), including 23-of-82 power punches (28.1%). Eubank was fiercely accurate on the power-punching front, as he landed 125-of-286 (43.7%) in that category.
Eubank won six straight headed into the first fight, which came about only after the massive fallout in a canceled clash with Conor Benn last October 8. The all-second generation boxer matchup was pulled after Benn tested positive for the banned substance Clomiphene, which—only after the result was leaked to the media—prompted the British Boxing Board of Control to pull its sanctioning from the event.
Revisiting that fight is on Eubank’s radar along with a few other notable showdowns.
“I see a lot of these big names in the crowd,” stated Eubank. “I’m coming for you, Conor. I’m coming for you, Kell [Brook]. I’m coming for anyone else who wants it. We’re going to put on a show for the fans.”
Another piece of unfinished business was on the mind of the middleweight contender.
Once upon a time, a plan was in place for Eubank to challenge then-unbeaten, unified middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin (42-2-1, 37KOs). The fight never happened despite both sides seemingly agreeing to terms, as Brook moved up two weight divisions to replace Eubank in the event.
Golovkin would go on to lose the middleweight titles to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in their September 2018 rematch. He separately regained the IBF and WBA belts but has since relinquished both and has not fought since a repeat loss to Alvarez in their trilogy clash last September.
For now, it remains uncertain whether Golovkin will fight at least once more or if the 41-year-old Kazakh boxer is done with the sport. At least one fighter is hopeful of the former.
“Listen, I want to fight Triple G,” insisted Eubank. “I don’t know where he is right now. Wherever you are, get him here… let’s get that on if we can.”
By Jake Donovan