Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Smith had their first face-off in the pre-fight week build-up as they prepare to face each other on September 2nd, 2023.
Eubank will aim to avenge the loss that he suffered at the hands of Smith, as he was stopped in the fourth round. And this time around, Eubank has made some major changes to his camp. The departure of Roy Jones Jr. marked a shift away from his policy of boxing and moving, as he hired the services of Terence Crawford’s trainer, Brian McIntyre. However, the late change up of trainers has raised question marks over whether Eubank can gain any advantage.
As for Smith, the Liverpudlian will be looking to repeat the same performance that earned him the shock victory, as Eubank was stopped for the first time. And yet, the narrative of the first fight was also clouded by claims that Smith had used an illegal elbow during his combinations that stopped Eubank. While it did nothing to stop the result from standing, Eubank has hit out at Smith’s tactics.
“He’s absolutely a dirty fighter. I said that before the fight. And yeah, he proved it on the night. He snuck it in during a volley and he caught me, and it definitely affected what happened.
“But again, I’m not making any excuses, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have been there to receive that elbow. I shouldn’t have given him the opportunity. I did, he took advantage of that, and I paid the price. It’s the fight, you gotta do what you gotta do to win, and he did that. This time around, no opportunities. Nothing. No ground is going to be given to this guy,” Eubank said
Make sure you check out the fight on FIGHT SPORTS and FIGHT SPORTS MAX in the countries below from 2 p.m. ET time.
FIGHT SPORTS
- Japan
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- France
- Nordic/Baltics
- Belgium
- Greece/Cyprus
- Ex-Yugoslavia
- Armenia
- Israel
- MENA
- Angola/Mozambique
- Caribbean
FIGHT SPORTS MAX
- Nordic/Baltics
- Belgium
- MENA