Liam Smith knows a thing or two about playing to one’s strengths.
As for Chris Eubank Jr. that might be a different story.
In a recent interview, Liverpool’s Smith talked about how he believes Eubank is doing himself a disservice by trying to copy the style of his mentor and trainer Roy Jones Jr.
Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs) scored one of the early upsets of the year in January, when he knocked Eubank (32-3, 23 KOs) out in four rounds at AO Arena in Manchester. They will meet again in a contracted rematch. The rematch has been postponed twice due to a training injury suffered by Smith. A new date is expected by next week.
Some have observed how Eubank seems to be trying to reproduce his Hall of Fame trainer’s stylistic tendencies, at least in some of his recent fights—case in point, his brutal tussle with Liam Williams one year ago. Jones, considered to be one the greatest boxers to emerge in the 1990s, was a stylistic anomaly whose otherworldly athleticism and whippet-like quickness could overcome what for other fighters would be defensive liabilities.
Count Smith as one who feels Eubank is better off resorting to his natural strengths rather than trying to conform to those of his teacher.
“He can come [in the rematch] and try and box like Roy Jones,” Smith told BBC 5 Live Boxing. “He makes too many mistakes. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I just said, before [Eubank] fought Liam Williams, ‘I’ll bite your hand off for that Chris Eubank Jr. [fight].’ And [Eubank] got all crazy for the Williams fight because he dropped Liam four times with jabs. And I’ve said before, ‘give me that Chris Eubank Jr. [fight]. I’ll wipe the floor with him.’ I kind of got that Chris [from the Williams fight]—boxed me on the back foot with a long jab and [had] a Roy Jones type of defense. He’s not blessed with that type of ability, Chris. Sooner he realizes that the better.
“I wanna be like Roy Jones, but I can’t do that, know what I mean? I wanna be like Floyd Mayweather.”
Sean Nam is the author of the forthcoming book Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.