Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr 2 Analysis

Eight months on from their first bout, Liam Smith (33-3 – 20KOs) will once again lock horns with rival Chris Eubank Jr (32-3- 23KOs) on Saturday in England.

In the first scrap, Smith scored an emphatic 4th-round TKO, landing two knockdowns in quick succession to close the show.

Despite the unexpected finish to the fight, the result left us with more questions than answers.

Was Smith’s win a fluke?

How will Eubank bounce back from his first career KO loss?

The Stakes For Smith-Eubank 2

Both fighters cannot not afford to lose this rematch more so Eubank.

Another defeat to his bitter rival will leave Eubank’s title dream in tatters, whilst Smith can look forward to one last crack at a world title and become a two-division world champion.

Parting ways with Roy Jones Jr., Eubank has enlisted the help of Brian ‘Bo-Mac’ McIntyre to help reverse his fortunes, Bo-Mac is the trainer to pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford.

Time will tell if this change will pay off, or will he be unable to prevent his new protégé from suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.

The key for Chris Eubank Jr is how to approach this fight mentally.

First tango was 21/02/23 at MANCHESTER AO ARENA. PIC LAWRENCE LUSTIG/BOXXER

Will he have his usual arrogance and air superiority?

Or will a newly humbled Eubank proceed with laser focus and concrete mental fortitude? All the pressure is off Liam Smith as he has already beaten him once and will back himself to inflict another crushing defeat on his outspoken rival.

Refusing to believe he can lose for a second time, Eubank will be hoping to win and win in style to send out a message to the rest of the middleweight division.

Neither fighter believes that they will lose the rematch.

Eubank insists that Liam Smith is a dirty fighter and claimed an elbow was the reason for his first KO loss.

21/02/23 MANCHESTER AO ARENA
PIC LAWRENCE LUSTIG/BOXXER

“I’ve taken big shots from big guys. Guys that hit way harder than him and with a punch it’s a flash of white and then I’m right back,” Eubank said.

“When that elbow hit it went dark. This is not a fancy. This is not a story because I’ve never been down in my career.”

Liam Smith disputes he cheated with an elbow and that it was simply down to him being the better fighter.

‘You can’t beat me how I beat you,” he insists.

Remains to be seen whether he can but based on the last fight the same outcome cannot be ruled out.

The countdown begins to see who will emerge victorious between arguably Britain’s top middleweights.

Elbow talk after the first clash. Hopefully this time it gets sorted clean. PIC LAWRENCE LUSTIG/BOXXER

What can be guaranteed is that the fight will be chaotic, violent and an all-out war for as long as it lasts.

Regardless of what they think the only factor of this fight that matters is the outcome.

Will lightning strike twice for Smith?

Or will Chris Eubank Jr rise from the abyss of failure and claim a career-saving win?