Liam Smith unfazed ahead of next fight vs. Chris Eubank Jr. in all-British middleweight boxing bout

Tom Gray

Liam Smith unfazed ahead of next fight vs. Chris Eubank Jr. in all-British middleweight boxing bout image

The all-British middleweight collision between Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Smith does not have a world title on the line and it doesn’t need one. The pair will throw down at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, this Saturday in a U.K. Sky Box Office pay-per-view bout that has already captured the British public’s imagination.

Smith, 34, is a former WBO super welterweight champion who’s mixed with the best. The Liverpool star has excellent fundamentals, incredible fitness, and underrated ring craft. He's also proven his warrior heart on several occasions.

Outside of the heavyweight division, the 33-year-old Eubank Jr. is perhaps the biggest star in British boxing. Like his father before him, he’s charismatic, dynamic, and a master at driving the hype machine. As well as all that, Eubank Jr. can fight and he’s the naturally bigger man in this matchup

This will be Smith’s first legitimate test at the middleweight limit. He weighed in at 159 ¼ for a fourth-round stoppage of Hassan Mwakinyo in September, but Eubank Jr. is a completely different animal. The Brighton man has campaigned at middleweight throughout his career and he’s also enjoyed some success at super middleweight.

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When I suggested to Smith that Eubank Jr. may initiate a shootout in an attempt to impose his size and strength, the response was quick and to the point.

“Please do,” said Smith (32-3-1, 19 KOs) in a recent interview with The Sporting News.

“Don’t be fooled, thinking Chris Eubank is going to walk all over me because it’s at 160. If you want to shoot your shots early doors, make sure you don’t miss, mate. If he comes to me to make a fight, he knows I meet fire with fire. And that’s if he’s got the legs to do that for 12 rounds at 160.

“He’s going to have to go some to budge me – not many people have. Canelo [Alvarez] done me with a body shot; he was the best fighter in the world. Nobody else has come close and Chris Eubank Jr. is not going to come close either. If he comes for me early doors, he’s in for a long night. If he tries to outbox me, good luck to you. Hopefully, your size works in your favour because I don’t think you have the fundamentals to box me like that.”

For over two years, Eubank Jr. has trained under the guidance of multi-weight world champion and Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. In that time, there’s been an earnest attempt to transform Eubank from an athletic, yet sometimes wild, power puncher to a more conservative and well-rounded stylist.

Eubank Jr. and Jones Jr. are three for three, but there’s no doubt that Smith represents the pair’s biggest challenge to date.

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“I give [Eubank] his due, and I mean this with respect, I think he’s trying to learn under Roy,” acknowledged Smith, who’s trained by the highly respected Joe McNally. “Let’s have it right, [Eubank’s] never tried anything anybody has ever taught him. He’s just tried to fight his own way and that got him so far. He’s trying to do stuff Roy’s telling him, but, that being said, I don’t think he does it well.

“He got away with [the new style] because of the [four] knockdowns with Liam Williams. But why was Liam getting dropped with jabs? [Demetrius] Andrade might have finished Liam Williams, we don’t know, or maybe Williams killed himself to make weight. He got dropped with jabs, and that’s uncharacteristic for Liam Williams. Strip it all back, I don’t think [Eubank] does the style very well, but we’ll soon see.”

Eubank Jr. (32-2, 23 KOs) attempted to get under Smith’s skin on the Sky Sports build-up show The Gloves Are Off. The enigmatic boxer-puncher accused his opponent of being a dirty fighter and even questioned his discipline.

“He backtracked straight away,” said Smith dismissively. “He said, ‘You’re a dirty fighter because you don’t put the work in in the gym.’ I said, ‘Chris, you can’t have the career I’ve had [if you don’t put the work in]. He said, ‘Yeah, to a certain extent.’ To even say that; I think he’s got… not fear, but a little bit of nerves already.

“As I said, he knows he’s in a fight. I’m in my 16th year as a professional. To still be at the top, on a pay-per-view card, against him, shows I put the work in, shows I live a good life, shows I do everything properly. If he thinks [I don’t], then good luck to him. I’ve been at the top longer than him, put it that way.”

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This is a crossroads battle. The winner could walk into a world title fight in the summer, whereas the loser will have a long road back. There’s so much on the line for both men, and one gets the feeling that this one will live up to all the hype.

“You only have to look at both styles, both careers, and the way we’ve both fought in our careers,” offered Smith in earnest.

“As much as I say what I say about him, he can fight. And he’s definitely going to be in a good fight with myself because of what I bring. It might start cagey, but as soon as it settles down, it can only go one way. As (former two-time world title challenger) Matthew Macklin said, ‘It’s going to be brutal.’”

Tom Gray

Tom Gray Photo

Tom Gray joined The Sporting News in 2022 after over a decade at Ring Magazine where he served as managing editor. Tom retains his position on The Ring ratings panel and is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.