Welterweight contender Conor Benn was not impressed with the dominant performance by Chris Eubank Jr. – who got revenge by stopping Liam Smith in the tenth round of their rematch.
Back in January, Smith knocked Eubank out in four rounds.
The second encounter, which took place on Saturday night in Manchester, was a much different matter.
Eubank won just about every round, dropped Smith in the fourth and tenth, and then unloaded with punches to force the referee’s decision to wave off the contest.
Eubank and Benn were scheduled to collide in a catchweight bout last October, but their event fell apart during fight week – when news broke that Benn had tested positive for a banned substance.
Benn, who is currently not licensed by the British Boxing Board of Control, is still embroiled in a legal fight with the BBBofC and drug testing agency UKAD.
He felt Smith had and injured leg and that affected his performance in the fight.
“Smith made him look good. What, it takes you ten rounds to dispatch of someone who’s got a broken leg? I’m not really impressed,” said Benn, according to Talk Sport and No Smoke Sport. “Eubank, let’s get it on, there’s unfinished business there.
“You could definitely see that it was an injury, that’s all that was. 100 percent, you could tell Smith weren’t himself. His shots weren’t coming off, he weren’t able to get out the way of the shots. And that’s all that was.
“I didn’t think it was an impressive performance. If you’ve got a wounded man in there, take hold of them, get them out of there. If I’ve got someone injured in front of me who can’t throw back, they ain’t seeing the end of the round. That’s it.
“He looked better than he has done previously, but it weren’t all that. Smith made him look good tonight. I’d get hold of him [Eubank] within four, I’d put it on him straightaway. We can do that next, no problem.”
Benn made it clear that he was willing to move up by two weight divisions to face Eubank.