Brian “Bomac” McIntyre didn’t exactly impart anything too revelatory for his latest client, Chris Eubank Jr., ahead of his grudge match with Liam Smith.
The veteran trainer from Omaha, Nebraska, best known for guiding undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford, says he simply reminded Eubank of the principles that he already knew but failed to implement in the first fight.
And apparently that was enough as Eubank dominated Smith last Saturday night in their middleweight rematch in Manchester, England, scoring two knockdowns en route to a stoppage in the 10th round. The win redeemed Eubank’s humiliating fourth-round knockout loss to Smith in January in the same venue.
One of the key changes going into the rematch was Eubank’s decision to link up with McIntyre, who started working with Eubank just days after Mcintyre helped Crawford defeat Errol Spence Jr. to become the fully unified champion of the welterweight division. Eubank was previously trained by Roy Jones Jr.
In a post-fight interview, McIntyre stressed the importance of being elusive and preventing Smith, a plodder, from getting too comfortable.
“Just reminding him of the things that he should’ve done the first fight, which is, stay behind the jab, stay off the ropes, work his combinations off the jab, and just step around,” McIntyre said regarding the instructions he gave to Eubank during training camp in and interview with SecondsOut. “Rhythm, just good rhythm, not staying one stop for a long time, cuz Liam is a power puncher. He got to be set to punch, so if you make him keep moving his feet, he won’t be able to do things he did in the first fight.”
Despite picking up two significant wins in the past month, McIntyre acknowledged the need, as a trainer, to stay level headed.
“We built for this as trainers,” McIntyre said. “We built for this. This is what we signed up for. So I try not to put too many emotions in it, because at the same time one of the good fighters [that we’re training] could get knocked off. So, I just enjoy the moment. He won the fight. And just push forward.”
As for whether he will work with Eubank again, McIntyre suggested that decision will be up to the fighter.
“Right now, just let Chris enjoy his win,” McIntyre. “Take a little vacation. I’ll just stay by my phone until the opportunity comes up again.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.