Middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. admits that his boxing future is at stake in the upcoming rematch with former world champion Liam Smith.
Back in January, Smith pulled off a shocker by moving up in weight and knocking out Eubank in four rounds.
Their rematch is scheduled to take place on June 17 in Manchester on June 17, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
According to Eubank, he didn’t feel much pressure leading up to the first bout.
However, he’s feeling a lot of pressure for the rematch – as another loss would spell the end of his career.
“It’s always interesting sitting across the table from a man you’re going to fight in a few months, looking into his eyes, especially when that man has a win over you which he does,” Eubank Jr told Sky Sports News.
“This is a rematch, a very serious fight for me now, I cannot afford any mistakes, so I’m ready for the challenge. I may have, not underestimated him, but there wasn’t as much pressure on me in the last fight. Now on the flip side all the pressure is on me, I have to go out there and perform, my career is on the line.
“I’ve never been in this situation before where I’m fighting a man who has another win over me, so I’m interested to see how that might affect my preparation, my mindset, my performance on the night.”
On the other hand, Eubank is refusing to confirm that he’d announce his retirement if Smith is able to pull of another win.
“I get asked this question every time I fight,” Eubank said. “It seems like once you hit 30-years-old it’s like, ‘if you lose are you going to retire?’.
“No, I don’t have that mentality, I don’t bring that into the universe, I don’t talk about retirement. I’m going to do everything I can to win, if by some miracle he’s able to pull off another win I won’t say ‘I’m going to retire’. As a fighter you fight, as long as my body can keep going through these training camps I’m going to do that.”