Chris Eubank Jnr’s long-awaited rematch with Liam Smith has been rearranged, Smith’s promoter has confirmed.
The bout was originally scheduled for July 1st, but Smith had to pull out due to what was described at the time as a “minor, but nagging injury”.
It wasn’t the first proposed rematch between the two. The two fought in January this year, with Smith stopping Eubank in four rounds following two quick-succession knockdowns. Another meeting was originally pencilled in for June 17th, but injury meant it needed to be pushed back slightly to the July 1st date.
Now, however, Smith’s promoter Ben Shalom is confident that the bout will take place – and sooner rather than later. “I expect it to happen and [for] it to happen very soon now that Liam has confirmed his 100% fitness,” he said on 5 Live Boxing.
“We’ve sent the date over to [Eubank’s promoters] Wasserman and hopefully we can confirm something next week.”
What happened in the last Eubank/Smith fight?
A fierce rivalry has developed over the last few years between Eubank and Smith , and it all came to a head in January when they finally battled it out at Manchester’s AO Arena.
It was a heavy bout from the first bell and it only took twelve minutes for it to come to an end. Smith landed punch after punch on his opponent and the referee had to bring proceedings to an end in the fourth round, with Eubank Jnr struggling.
The bad blood between the two men didn’t end once they’d left the ring though. Eubank’s team looked into appealing the fight to the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) after accusations that Smith had used an elbow to bring his opponent down.
Ahead of the initial rematch date, Eubank said: “Liam had the night of his life against me in January, the stars aligned for him in Manchester, and he went away with a big win. But lightning doesn’t strike twice.”
The delays over this rematch only add extra spice to the story for two men who’ve excelled in their careers so far.
Eubank and Smith’s records
The son of legendary British fighter Chris Eubank, Eubank Jnr has held multiple championships in two weight classes, including the WBA interim middleweight, the British middleweight and the IBO super-middleweight. He’s lost just three matches across his 35 fights and won 23 by knockout.
Meanwhile, Smith has won British and Commonwealth titles and has clocked up 33 wins over 37 fights, losing three and drawing one.
Eubank is also rumoured to be considering a match against Conor Benn, son of Nigel Benn. With such proud boxing history between the two fighters, the bout would certainly be a lucrative prospect and they were due to meet in October 2022.
However, Benn’s currently under investigation by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (Ukad) and the BBBofC after failing two voluntary drug tests. The fight was therefore cancelled and the ongoing investigation makes a clash difficult to organise at the moment. But if the ruling goes in Benn’s favour it’s likely it’ll be scheduled in the not-too-distant future.
Written and distributed by Chat T Sports.
