Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Chris Eubank Jr gained revenge against Liam Smith on Saturday, stopping his rival as the Britons returned to the scene of their first clash.
Smith dropped Eubank Jr twice at Manchester’s AO Arena in January before the referee waved off the middleweight bout, but the boxers’ roles were reversed on Saturday. In the same building, it was Eubank Jr who dropped Smith twice before securing a TKO in the 10th round.
Eubank Jr, 33, looked the slicker fighter all night, switching targets between the head and body while picking his shots wisely. Meanwhile, 35-year-old Smith looked languid and was watching rounds slip away from the first bell.
The first knockdown came in the fourth round – the frame in which their first fight ended – as Smith was dropped to a knee and smartly spat out his mouthguard to buy time. In fact, he bought more than he might have imagined, briefly quelling Eubank Jr’s momentum.
When the action resumed, Eubank Jr sought a finish but – as it eluded him – he elected patience as the bout wore on. In the 10th round, however, he put down Smith again with a left hook after a fast start to the round. Smith let out a deep breath as he rose to beat the referee’s count, with blood trickling from a cut above his right eye.
The Liverpudlian was only delaying the inevitable, however, as Eubank Jr backed him up to the ropes and unloaded shots, overwhelming Smith. Eventually, referee Kevin Parker stepped in to wave off the fight, sealing Eubank Jr’s redemption.
Full report:
Chris Eubank Jr banishes demons by stopping Liam Smith to cap off slick showing
Eubank Jr secured the TKO in Round 10, having dropped his rival moments earlier and in Round 4
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
While Roy Jones Jr, who coached Eubank Jr in his first fight with Smith, looked poised to throw in the towel before the referee stepped in, Eubank Jr vowed that there would be no chance of that happening on Saturday.
“We are not going to look for the easy way out,” he said on Thursday. “If it gets rough, if it gets hairy, we are there for the long haul. We are going to get through it. If there is going to be a towel involved in this fight, it will definitely be coming from the other corner.”
There were no towels needed last night.
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Eubank Jr moments before referee Kevin Parker waved off the bout
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Smith moments prior to the end of the fight
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
The finish officially came at 1:45 in Round 10.
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Eubank Jr: “I wanna fight GGG. I don’t know where you are, Gennady [Golovkin], but wherever you are, you’ve been holding onto those belts too long. I wanna take one.”
Smith says he was too flat tonight, and that he rolled his ankle early in the fight.
Chris Eubank Jr stops Liam Smith in Round 10
Eubak Jr: “I’m not a bad guy. I know I got booed when I came in here, there’s a few cheers now – which I appreciate. I’m turning a few people around.”
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