In fact, Chris Eubank Jnr has spent weeks telling the world that he operates on a different intellectual level than Liam Smith, and that Smith is, in his mind, nothing more than some sort of boxer. “ABC, 1-2-3”, somewhat fitting that the shot Smith upset Eubank Jnr’s equilibrium tonight (January 21) in Manchester was a camouflaged upper left and extreme creative period.
Alas, that shot, Eubank Jnr did not see; scenes that Smith never expected would be imagined by Smith, much less done. It was a shot, thrown with Eubank Jnr swaying and weaving in the corner, that changed the course of the game – as well as the end, in fact.
Eubank Jnr, to his conviction, got up as soon as he was knocked out by the punch, however, with just two minutes to the fourth, Smith’s completion of the best shot of his career. it’s only a matter of time. win.
Up until that point, the mid-tier matchup had gone as expected. Eubank Jnr, with his hands low and a disdainful expression on his face, unleashed quick and frantic punches, scored with a string of headers to end the third half, and looked comfortable enough as Smith, behind one The guard is taller, rushing forward to pursue him. In the third round, there was certainly no indication of what would happen next in the fourth round.
That comes out of nowhere, of course, with a setup unlike anything else we’ve seen from Eubank Jnr over the years. By his will, he retreated into a corner, allowing Smith to close the gap, and it was in this position, this dangerous area, that Smith moved his head and unleashed a barrage of punches, like Eubank Jnr either didn’t expect or never experienced before.
Apparently, while he easily absorbed the punches of George Groves and Billy Joe Saunders in past losses, these punches – Smith’s punches – were different. They were thrown in the front leg, for example, with Smith looking to make a dent in Eubank Jnr rather than simply confuse him (as both Groves and Saunders intended). They are also imaginative and put together well; more than just stabs and crosses. Instead, these shots are quick, meaty, and thrown with Smith’s foot and his solid base.
As a result, Eubank Jnr can only do so much to avoid them and, once a pawn lands, that’s it. He was stuck in the corner with his mind elsewhere. His legs stiffened, first by the top hook and then by the next left hook, even though he had no last choice but to plop down on the canvas, legs spread wide, one arm over the yarn. wire in the middle to prevent blushing. He was acting on instinct at the moment and indeed his subsequent reaction to the knock-out – straightening up, stumbling in the middle of the ring, and talking to the referee, Victor Loughlin – was indicative. the mark of someone who has (a) never been in such an unfortunate position before and (b) has never contemplated that this might one day become their reality.
No longer the genius he wanted the world to believe in, Eubank Jnr was suddenly, thanks to Smith’s left headbutt, an idiot and a novice like anyone else. In fact, the shot seemed to almost cause a regression in him, stripping him of all his arrogance and pride and returning him to his infantile state: Dad’s son.
It’s also a bit ironic, since one of Eubank Jnr’s great inheritance gifts is his chin and durability. After all, countless times, we’ve seen him take punches from men – usually larger men – and barely blink in response, let alone cringe. back or fall.
However, this time it was for whatever reason. This time, when he staggered forward to argue with the umpire about something, Eubank Jnr, for a single punch, the skin of a boxer, was hollow, soft and ready. ready to take the blow.
Smith, without invitation, duly received him, and he did so without needing to fire another shot. As it happened, the damage done to Eubank Jnr was so great he now simply fell on Smith, managed to escape, then a messy exchange was enough to send him head-first. bottom rope. Then, on the way down, Eubank Jnr’s left arm reached out in desperation to grab Smith’s leg, and then, on the way back, Loughlin immediately ended the fight.
Liam Smith celebrates (Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer)
Smith, 33-3-1 (20), then said, “I don’t know if it was a one-off or an accumulation, but I’ve been telling you all week (this will happen). “A lot has been made of Chris’ great chin, but I have a great chin and there are a lot of boxers with a better chin that have been knocked down in the past.
“I’ve been telling you all week: Don’t be surprised. No one is invulnerable.”
A comment like that, one as plausible as one of the two men has made in recent weeks, is a fitting way to end the particular rivalry in this country. Because the truth is, after all, while Chris Eubank Jnr, 32-3 (23), says he’s different from everyone else – built differently, with the ability to think differently – tonight is by proof, if necessary, that he is like all the rest: vulnerable, fragile, aging.
Worse for Eubank Jnr, the occult is now shattered. Of course, some might argue that it happened the night he lost to Billy Joe Saunders in 2014, but I would counter that Eubank Jnr, in being a man known for his tough and warrior spirit, who has managed to successfully recreate himself after his loss to Saunders (and even Groves) is a tough man capable of going up against anyone, at least in the water and finding way outlast them. He’s also very clever with it, luring opponents into his fighting style by tricking them with forewords and creating a pantomime villain – part mystic, part serial killer – not too different from the character his father mastered in the ’90s. Great and smart, too smart for the rest, he said, and perhaps too smart Proving for his own good, Chris Eubank Jnr is finally dumbfounded in Manchester tonight by the basics. ABC. 1-2-3.
Chris Eubank Jnr after being blocked for the first time (Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer)
