Middleweight Chris Eubank Jr 32-3 (23) has opted to go straight into a rematch with rival Liam ‘Beefy’ Smith 33-3-1 (20) at the AO Arena in Manchester, England on June 17.
The 34-year-old Smith ambushed Eubank Jr, 33, to score a fourth-round knockout at the same venue in January. Eubank Jr was down twice in what proved to be be the ultimate round.
“Any other fighter gets stopped after that first knockdown. It all happened to him on one night, everything he thought couldn’t happen to him, everything Chris prides himself on not happening, happened to him on one night – and I did it to him,” Smith said.
“I knew I was a better fighter than Chris. Now I know I can hurt him and hurt him quite handily at 160lbs. Now I’m massively confident. To save face he had to take this rematch if he wants to go any further in his career. He’s got a lot of demons to overcome.”
Eubank Jr believes referee Victor Loughlin should have allowed the bout to continue.
“The thing I regret is not being given the chance to get through it,” Eubank Jr said. “I wanted to continue. I wanted to see if I could overcome that adversity and I feel like I was robbed of that challenge. This is what we sign up for. We signed up to get hurt. We sign up for the possibility of receiving punishment.
“If a beating was what I was going to take if the fight had been left to go longer, then great, that’s what I deserve. I would have accepted that. I would have enjoyed that. In my opinion, he didn’t stop me, the referee stopped me.
“In a sense we both got robbed there. I’m a grizzled veteran in the sport, I know how much I can take, I know when I can’t go on. I was buzzed but I knew what was going on.”
On the undercard undisputed super middleweight champion Franchón Crews-Dezurn 8-1 (2) will defend her WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF belts against Savannah Marshall 12-1 (10).
“She gave a valiant fight in October [against Shields] but it might not be the same, it’s going to be a little worse this time. We’re here right now and I’m telling you June 17 is going to be fun for me. There are some things in boxing you can’t teach,” Crews-Dezurn said.
Marshall will be moving up from 160-pounds.
“There’s no weight cutting, no being drained for fights so I think this weight will suit me a lot better,” Marshall said.
“I believe I’m at world level and if I can’t mix it with the likes of Franchon, what good am I in boxing? Our styles have changed to suit the pros.
“I’m no mug, I’m not overlooking her. It’s going to be a hard night’s work. She’s a tough, rugged, very experienced fighter, but I believe I beat her.”
