Round-by-Round: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Liam Smith - 21 January 2023

[Ezzard]

Jones fought men as a kid like Benitez did. Great reflexes, speed, endless experience and practice, plus lawyers who consistently got him off after positive samples.

[cormack]

just as well for spewbank that benn got busted

[KiwiRider]

just as well for spewbank that benn got busted

True that. It would have been embarrassing.
They may still fight if there is a buck in it. Once Benn gets off maternity leave that is.

[joshj909]

Hate Benn with a passion. He has been found out cheating and nothing will convince me otherwise given the circumstances. It will be technicalities of anything. He gloats like he's a world champ but he had to take drugs to beat up a load of has been and never beens when Eubank has lost to someone that would you with Benn. His beard and his hairline are painted on so you know how insecure he is.

[pinklady]

Similar to Roy, losing all that weight after going to heavy, Chris looks like he left something in the gym. Lost with grace

exactly what i thought,fighters like Eubank don't fall apart like that

[a force]

I can’t believe that, I was jumping off the sofa in shock. The only way I could see Smith winning was if he boxed a near perfect fight & edged a points decision.

I thought Smith won the first two rounds, not massively but did enough.

Obviously Eubank won the 3rd round convincingly but in hindsight I think Smith reverted to his old Joe Gallagher high guard to have a good look at Eubank.

Saw the opportunities Eubank gives you when he attacks & took full advantage the next round.

It was like watching Haye - Maccarinelli all over again with Eubank trapped in the corner bouncing off the ropes into flush shots when he really needed to go down & recover.

I agree with some others about the weight been an issue. He looked absolutely shredded at 168, there’s no way it can be healthy for him making 160 but he’s made it a tough excuse to use with all the talk of how easy he makes weight.

Got to be a rematch surely. Eubank will want it. The only way he gets future PPV fights is by avenging that loss.

[KiwiRider]

In reference to Eubank and his chin/resistance - he did take three hard flush shots in quick succession in the first KD. That is a lot of punishment in short order.
Then Smith was right back on him after the count.
Smith may not be a huge puncher, but he was very fresh at the 4th round, so I fell he was giving full power to those shots

[coneye]

Got to agree with most others , Glad the BENN FIGHT DID'NT HAPPEN bENN MAY WELL HAVE DONE THE SAME be interested to know what the results on any fat tests on Eubank were , and i'd be suprised if they did'nt have them , its seems obvious the pairing and changing style of RJJ is not working along with the cutting weight bet his body fat level was way below safety and a big factor in losing his chinm all off a sudden ,, fair enough he got caught by good punches but he's wore harder of bigger hitters before all the dieting .

alls i can say now is BRING ON BENN v BEEFY

[wrighty]

Is Jones a good fit for Eubank? I always thought the Ingles could do a lot for him. I think Chris should fight for a few domestic straps but realistically I don't think he will as he will see himself above it. Signani is a winnable fight

[SticknMove]

Similar to Roy, losing all that weight after going to heavy, Chris looks like he left something in the gym. Lost with grace

exactly what i thought,fighters like Eubank don't fall apart like that

Ditto.

He has always shown a solid chin when tested in fights beforehand. Maybe he is treading water thinking that his past success would be enough, forgetting that his past success depended on him having the full mixture of fear, nerves, confidence and buzz to keep his performance sharp.

Well done Liam.....have always liked the Smith brothers.

[Nightmare Roy]

I listened to it on the radio but I've just seen the stoppage, should have been stopped after the first KD, he was really hurt there, it was almost like Khan Prescott.

[KiwiRider]

Is Jones a good fit for Eubank? I always thought the Ingles could do a lot for him. I think Chris should fight for a few domestic straps but realistically I don't think he will as he will see himself above it. Signani is a winnable fight

I don't think so. All the defence and fancy stuff Smith just walked through.
Jones fought with super speed, and blistering natural talent at MW, Eubank had his best successes being a basic volume guy who worked hard to be fit and had a reasonable chin.

[wrighty]

Is Jones a good fit for Eubank? I always thought the Ingles could do a lot for him. I think Chris should fight for a few domestic straps but realistically I don't think he will as he will see himself above it. Signani is a winnable fight

I don't think so. All the defence and fancy stuff Smith just walked through.
Jones fought with super speed, and blistering natural talent at MW, Eubank had his best successes being a basic volume guy who worked hard to be fit and had a reasonable chin.

I thought he would be good with the Ingles, using his feet and throwing at odd angles over and over.

[KiwiRider]

Is Jones a good fit for Eubank? I always thought the Ingles could do a lot for him. I think Chris should fight for a few domestic straps but realistically I don't think he will as he will see himself above it. Signani is a winnable fight

I don't think so. All the defence and fancy stuff Smith just walked through.
Jones fought with super speed, and blistering natural talent at MW, Eubank had his best successes being a basic volume guy who worked hard to be fit and had a reasonable chin.

I thought he would be good with the Ingles, using his feet and throwing at odd angles over and over.

You might be right, or Chris might not be able to change, he is pretty late in his career now.

[KiwiRider]

Beefy's last 4 fights have ended in stoppage, he is on a bit of a roll

[wrighty]

I don't think so. All the defence and fancy stuff Smith just walked through.
Jones fought with super speed, and blistering natural talent at MW, Eubank had his best successes being a basic volume guy who worked hard to be fit and had a reasonable chin.

I thought he would be good with the Ingles, using his feet and throwing at odd angles over and over.

You might be right, or Chris might not be able to change, he is pretty late in his career now.

He should get some domestic titles and just sign off. He's had a good career and can still win stuff, he makes good money anyway. I just think he won't get a big 4 title sadly.

[DrDuke]

I thought he would be good with the Ingles, using his feet and throwing at odd angles over and over.

You might be right, or Chris might not be able to change, he is pretty late in his career now.

He should get some domestic titles and just sign off. He's had a good career and can still win stuff, he makes good money anyway. I just think he won't get a big 4 title sadly.

Maybe Alim or Golovkin choose to face him for an easy money fight in Britain.

[Grilling Machine]

I'd recommend Eubank offer Smith 70% to rematch at 165. In four months' time after a good rest.

[HomicideHenry]

Didn't expect that result.

I would have thought it was Eubanks time.

[Ezzard]

That lump on Chris's eye would have come up no matter what weight he fought at.

Hope he can find a way to give it one last chance.

[MightyWarrior]

Initially I thought the ref panicked and waved it over too quick, mainly because the second kd looked like a push and I thought, give him a chance with an 8 count: it wasn’t like he’d taken a beating, it was just one of those temple shots..Anyway, when I saw the replay of the initial knock down, he could’ve stopped it right there. So fair enough.

It was the right hand that did for him, if he’d gone down and taken a count then, he may have been okay, but then it was a further 2 left hooks flush he wasn’t coming back from. It was like a perfect storm of punches, which you need to land, to take out someone with a great chin like Chris. Especially when you’re not noted as a huge puncher..it was very much like the Haye Enzo ending, as someone noted…

[Steveh583]

Is Jones a good fit for Eubank? I always thought the Ingles could do a lot for him. I think Chris should fight for a few domestic straps but realistically I don't think he will as he will see himself above it. Signani is a winnable fight

I don't think so. All the defence and fancy stuff Smith just walked through.
Jones fought with super speed, and blistering natural talent at MW, Eubank had his best successes being a basic volume guy who worked hard to be fit and had a reasonable chin.

I thought he would be good with the Ingles, using his feet and throwing at odd angles over and over.

Gallagher would be a better fit. Keeping it simple and playing to his attributes

[handsofstone]

I knew there was something odd about ref letting the fight go on after the first count but I couldn't put my finger on it,. It's the fact that apart from Eubank's legs still being jelly it's that Victor Loughlan never wiped his gloves, he looked like he was still deciding whether to let it go on before just waving it back on

[samwbr]

That lump on Chris's eye would have come up no matter what weight he fought at.

Hope he can find a way to give it one last chance.

There is a rematch clause.

[Ezzard]

That lump on Chris's eye would have come up no matter what weight he fought at.

Hope he can find a way to give it one last chance.

There is a rematch clause.

Feels too decisive for it to sell again. And Smith surely won't fight him at 168 or anything north of 160.