Result: Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith; Eubank Smashes Smith!

Last night, in Manchester, UK, the grudge match between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith was finally witnessed – and it was a result that few would have predicted, but one that was very impressive all the same; Chris Eubank demolished rival Smith, and in very impressive fashion as well. Read on below to find out just how Eubank Jr came back to put on a boxing clinic, and silence a lot of his critics in the process.

Chris Eubank Jr Locked In Ahead of The Fight

For me, the most immediate and most striking difference between Chris Eubank Jr in the first fight with Liam Smith and this fight was the walkout to the ring. There were no fancy antics. There was no dancing about or extroverted displays of arrogance. Chris Eubank Jr wore the face of a man that knew that his career and his relevancy hung in the balance, and he made this very obvious. An unusually stoic ring walkout made me very confidence that we would see a very different Chris Eubank Jr compared to the first fight, where he was very transparent about how non-seriously he took the threat of Liam Smith.

Following the result of the last fight, it was clear how much more seriously Eubank Jr took Liam Smith coming in to this fight. (Image Credit: Sky Sports)

The Fight Itself: Eubank Boxed Brilliantly

I said in my prediction article before this fight that Chris Eubank Jr is a far technically superior boxer to Liam Smith. I also said that if Eubank Jr could get his jab pumping, then he could (and I directly quote myself here), “box circles around Smith”. Ultimately, he did. I also said that Eubank could walk Smith onto his combinations, especially dangerous with hands as fast as Eubank Jr’s.

Chris Eubank Jr’s jab and uppercut combinations proved to be too much for Liam Smith, and massively influenced the ultimate result of this fight. (Image Credit: Daily Star)

Eubank Jr’s jab-uppercut combination worked absolute wonders for him in this fight. Whilst Smith was certainly far slower and lacked the requisite head movement, Eubank Jr’s jab and uppercut combo worked to a tee. Smith just could not see the shots coming at him, and he certainly wasn’t able to deal with them. Eubank’s sharpness and speed were just far too much for Smith to deal with on the night.

Eubank Sits Smith Down Twice

What was arguably the most impressive aspect of this performance was the authority and front-footedness that Eubank Jr imposed on this fight. I actually cannot remember the last time that Eubank Jr fought this impressively. To not only get back in the ring with the opponent that humiliated you just a number of months ago, but to go out and stamp your will on him and do the exact same thing in kind is extremely impressive, and speaks to a very strong mentality on Eubank Jr’s part.

Throughout the first three rounds, Eubank Jr (much like the first fight) was comprehensively outboxing Smith. Unlike in the first fight, Eubank Jr stuck to the gameplan and didn’t give in to his ego. He let Smith come to him, and then dropped him with a delicious uppercut in the fourth round that stung Smith pretty severely. The fifth round saw Eubank very nearly give in to his ego, absolutely unloading the kitchen sink at Smith for at least ninety seconds. Thankfully, for his part, he somehow didn’t completely gas out from said kitchen sink throwing.

Eubank Jr looked imperious all fight, dropping Liam Smith twice on his way to getting the revenge-filled result he had been looking for. (Image Credit: The Mirror)

The rest of the fight really followed from there. Eubank comfortably won every single round, mixing in some lovely shots to the body of Smith for good measure. The tenth round saw Smith backed up on the ropes, with another shot weaving its way through Smith’s guard and sitting him down. A couple of seconds later, and the ref finally stepped in to stop the fight. Cue a massive, massive win for Chris Eubank Jr.

So, Where Do Both Boxers Go From Here?

For Liam Smith, the priority is to heal up and take some time out. He was clearly badly compromised with some sort of movement/ankle injury in the first couple of rounds, so it is important that he addresses that injury before thinking of heading back into the ring. To his credit, he even acknowledged this immediately after the fight.

Both Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn have made it clear that they want to eventually face each other, despite the fight falling through once already. (Image Credit: Sky Sports)

For Chris Eubank Jr, not only is there now a strong feeling of relief, but now he can come back and address some of the big fights that will be on the table. The biggest name, of course, remains Conor Benn. This was the first name from Eubank Jr in his post fight interview. Whilst this would be an amazing fight to see, they will need to address the sheer farce that occurred last time out and to make sure that this does not happen again. Either way, we are sure to see Chris Eubank Jr in some big middleweight matchups very soon. But boy did he need this win, and I think he has realised that now.