Chris Eubank Jr. is confident that plans are back in play for a Liam Smith rematch.
The other side of that equation doesn’t quite share the same viewpoint.
An early morning tweet from Eubank suggested that he is set to run it back with Smith on September 2 at The O2 in London. The bout would headline a Sky Sports Pay-Per-View event.
“Eubank vs. Smith 2 at the O2 September 2nd,” Eubank said through his verified social media channel Friday.
Smith was tagged on the post and briefly entertained the suggestion, though with a modification to the tagline.
“No no, SMITH vs Eubank 2,” Smith replied, correcting the order for the fight.
All that said, the former WBO junior middleweight titlist isn’t quite as confident that the fight happens at that time—or at all.
“It’s nice he’s found his phone and his voice,” Smith told Boxing News before refuting the claim. “I’ve not heard anything, any confirmation about that. I was told today he’s fighting Conor Benn.”
Kalle Sauerland, Eubank’s promoter, also confirmed in a separate interview with Boxing News that the fight remains in discussion.
“We’re focused on getting the new deals for Smith done,” noted Sauerland. “But we’ve had a guy who’s pulled out three times… or the fight’s been moved three times. For us it’s about getting security around that. We’ve lost three months of the year because of that.
“We’re focused on getting that fight done for September the 2nd. But there’s a few I’s to dot and a few T’s to cross.”
Liverpool’s Smith (33-3-1, 20KOs) knocked out Brighton’s Eubank (32-3, 23KOs) in the fourth round of their January 21 meeting at AO Arena in Manchester. The fight carried a rematch clause, which Eubank enforced.
The AO Arena was once again due to play host for the second act originally set for June 17. The bout was pushed back two weeks to July 1 due to a back injury suffered by Smith during training camp. An inability to fully recover from the injury forced the bout to drop off the bill and left the fight in limbo.
Meanwhile, talks continued to swirl of a rescheduled Eubank-Benn clash.
The battle of second-generation boxers was due to take place last October 8. However, it was learned just ahead of fight week that Benn (21-0, 14KOs) tested positive for the banned substance Clomiphene in September. The news cycle prompted the British Boxing Board of Control to publicly state that it would not sanction the bout, which resulted in an abrupt cancellation just two days ahead of the event.
Benn remains the subject of an ongoing anti-doping investigation as conducted by the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP). A hearing was held Monday though the results were not yet learned despite rumors of the matter being settled this week.
Benn has not fought since a second-round knockout of Chris van Heerden last April 16 at AO Arena.
Smith continues to take a see-it-to-believe-it approach to the Eubank rematch.
Eubank’s team—while not yet on board with their fighter’s insistence of a done deal—remains hopeful that all concerns will be resolved in the next few days.
“I expect it to take place in early September,” noted Sauerland. “We’ve got a few days but at the same time we haven’t gotten weeks, either. It’ll be done hopefully if we can call agree on terms and be done in the next few days.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox