Chris Eubank Jr. got it right on the second try.
The middleweight contender, who was knocked out by underdog Liam Smith in January, turned the tables by stopping Smith in the 10th round of a scheduled 12-rounder Saturday night in Manchester, England.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:45.
In the first fight, Eubank had controlled the action for three-plus rounds but got caught with a big right hand that hurt him and Smith followed with a flurry that put him down.
Moments later another series of shots convinced referee Victor Loughlin to stop the fight, giving Smith an upset victory.
Eubank (33-3, 24 KOs) insisted afterward that he was dominating Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) until his countryman landed his big shot and vowed to demonstrate in the rematch that he is the better man.
He backed up his words almost from the beginning on Saturday, outboxing and outworking Smith to win round after round and ultimately the fight.
Eubank forced Smith to take a knee in Round 4, when it appeared that the fight might end early. However, Smith, demonstrating his toughness, fought through the bad moment and continued to try.
However, it wasn’t his night. Eubank continued to land almost at will as the fight progressed.
He put Smith down again with a flurry of punches in the final round. Smith again got to his feet but the fight was stopped shortly thereafter, giving Eubank a victory and his revenge.
