By: Sean Crose
Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith entered the ring at Manchester Arena on Saturday night in England with the goal of tackling things with their fists and footwork. While it’s not technically a meaningful match, the famous former Smith and Eubanks players have enough pedigree and fame behind them to make their match important. Simply put, these are two very good fighters, who still have gas in their tanks and who are quite outspoken who don’t seem to be big fans of each other, as the last press conference insults intelligence. Theirs proved. The match is scheduled for the 12th in middleweight.
The live crowd at Manchester Arena was so vibrant it could be felt across the Atlantic Ocean as the opening bell rang. Eubank 32-2 begins to launch his stab at Smith 32-3-1 while Smith presses into action. The second saw each man have his moments, while still playing relatively safe. They may not care much for each other, but each boxer respects the other’s abilities.
Smith continued to play in the third round, but Eubank seemed to have controlled the tempo later in the round. A series of early attacks in the fourth round brought Eubank down. Eubank got up – but was immediately put down. The referee stops the game. Oddly enough, Eubank got up and tried to fight Smith a few more times, even though the fight was officially over. However, to be fair, at the time, the man still appeared a bit lost and didn’t seem to know what was going on.
In a show of good sportsmanship, Eubank went to Smith just a minute later to congratulate him on his win.
