Chris Eubank Jr. understands Liam Smith will go into their rematch with certain advantages—one of which is that Smith knows he can hurt him.
Brighton’s Eubank and Liverpool’s Smith will headline a July 1 Sky Box Office pay-per-view card at AO Arena in Manchester in a 12-round middleweight bout.
Things went south quickly for Eubank (32-3, 23 KOs) in their first fight, with the underdog Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs) dropping him twice for a fourth-round stoppage. The conclusion was surprising in part because Smith is a career 154-pounder and Eubank has campaigned as high as 168 pounds in his career. Eubank, furthermore, sported a strong chin, has claimed he had never so much as been knocked down until he fought Smith.
With his aura of durability severely eroded, Eubank expects Smith to be even more confident than in their last fight.
“He’s definitely going to have more confidence now knowing he can buzz Eubank Jr.,” Eubank told iFL TV. “Because he didn’t know he can do that. I didn’t know that anyone could do that. I’ve been buzzed before. I said I’ve never been buzzed—of course I’ve been buzzed. You can’t not be buzzed doing this for a lifetime. But I’ve never been buzzed to the point that I fall over.
“Did I get back up too soon? Maybe. Should I have taken the full eight count? Maybe. But I’m not built that way. I have a lot of pride and it was uncharted territory. I just don’t know how to take a knee. I never practiced that, waiting for the referee to get up to the nine count and then get up. I’ve never done that. Now I have. Now I’ve been in that situation, which I’m going to do my absolute best for it to now happen again.
“Maybe I will play it differently. I don’t know. He did what he did and it’s my fault. I gave him the window of opportunity. So fair play to him.”
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.