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On This Day: Chris Eubank Jr exacts revenge on Liam Smith in explosive fashion
In 2022, Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn were set to have an inherited family grudge match, but it fell apart just days before fight night after Conor Benn failed a drug test, and Eubank was left with no opponent.
Liam Smith stepped up and helped produce a dramatic pair of fights to re-establish Eubank Jr as a name in the middleweight division and set him up for a classic domestic showdown with Benn.
Eubank Jr would go on to fight Conor Benn over two years on from their originally scheduled fight and emerge victorious from a 12-round war in April.
Today marks the second anniversary of Smith and Eubank Jr's rematch, and with the latter now set to rematch Conor Benn on November 15, let's look back at how his second fight with Smith panned out.
The first fight
Eubank Jr and Smith's initial meeting sparked the rivalry into life as the two exchanged venomous insults that ended with them both being fined by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) for misconduct.
But the stage was set for a fiery encounter that Eubank Jr claimed he only needed to be at 50 per cent to win – a statement that would come back to haunt him.
Eubank Jr looked in firm control of the fight through the first three rounds, landing flurries of right uppercuts to a static Smith, who seemed to be waiting for his opportunity to catch a perhaps overconfident Eubank Jr off guard.
That’s exactly what he did. After Eubank Jr voluntarily backed himself into a corner, looking to box on the counter, Smith unleashed a combination of four punches and connected with a right hand that put Eubank Jr on the canvas.
He tried to get to his feet too quickly and did not have his faculties, stumbling into the middle of the ring, before Smith landed another overhand right that put him down again and brought an end to the fight in the fourth round.
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Rematch clause activated
Only three weeks after such a convincing loss, Eubank Jr invoked his contractual right to a rematch that was initially scheduled to take place on June 17 in Manchester.
The pair had learned their lesson from the build-up to the first fight and were noticeably more respectful, not wishing to invoke the wrath of the BBBoC.
Eubank Jr played off the knockout loss as the "best night" of Liam Smith's career, and claimed he was gravely mistaken if he believed he stood a chance of winning again.
Eubank Jr said: “Liam had the night of his life against me in January.
“But lightning doesn’t strike twice. If he even has the slightest thought that he can beat me again, then great, because it will be his undoing.”
Changes and delays
In May, the fight was delayed until July as Smith had suffered a back injury in training camp and it was then delayed again until September after Smith cited persistent injuries, which caused him to struggle with his weight and ability to train.
Following this, in August, Roy Jones Jr, who had been in Eubank Jr’s corner for the first fight, announced he would be absent from the rematch, and the Brit employed the services of Terence Crawford’s coach Brian McIntyre.
Slow start for both
The first two rounds of the fight were characterised by pot-shotting and holding – Smith seemed to have adapted the same technique as the first fight and was attempting to let Eubank get overconfident.
He attempted to stalk Eubank and force him backwards, but without throwing any punches, which, as anyone would tell you, is quite an important part of boxing.
Eubank Jr had clearly made adjustments; he did not touch a single rope or corner, and when he felt under pressure, would throw one or two shots and hold onto Smith to stop him from unloading any shots on the inside, where he was his most effective in the first fight.
The fight gained some traction in the second half of the third round when Eubank Jr realised nothing was coming back from Smith and began to land lashing left hooks to the body as well as his trademark right uppercuts.
First knockdown
Brian McIntyre clearly gave Eubank Jr the call to start letting is hands go into the fourth round as with less than a minute gone, Smith took a step into range and found himself on the end of a vicious right uppercut that dropped him down to one knee.
This opened the floodgates, and Eubank Jr landed double the amount of punches Smith had in the entire fight up to that point - in one round.
The same pattern continued into the fifth round as Eubank Jr unloaded 24 unanswered punches with Smith against the ropes, just trying to survive.
Middle rounds domination
By the end of the fifth round, it was becoming clear that Smith was no longer playing possum and just simply had nothing to offer in the fight, with rumours circulating that he had a bad weight cut.
His punch output only confirmed this and Eubank Jr was being allowed to do as he pleased, throwing an impressive variety of combinations to head and body against Smith, who had become something of a heavy bag at this point.
Between rounds six and nine, Smith landed 17 total punches compared to a staggering 84 from Eubank Jr. It became of question of when Eubank would win, rather than if.
The finish
Smith had given all of what little he had and came out in the 10th round as a static target, but he would not go without a fight, still desperately trying to avoid the incoming onslaught and counter when he could.
But Eubank Jr was pouring it on heavily, throwing continuous volleys of punches with no response.
Smith was relentlessly pursued and eventually fell less than halfway through the round, but bravely returned to his feet, adorned with a cut over his right eye.
The referee called an end to the fight after Smith showed no signs of returning fire and, despite his initial protestations, he took his defeat with grace as Eubank Jr exacted his revenge in emphatic style.
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