It was probably the only possible ending to a week, a rivalry, a fight, and a truly special event.
Liam Smith found the sweetest punches of his long boxing life to get Chris Eubank Jnr to slide in bitter defeat and defiance down to the canvas. Time stopped inside the cauldron of Manchester Arena as people stood dumbfounded, covering their mouths in disbelief, shouting at the ceiling and just staring in silence.
And then Eubank Jnr beat the count and somehow got on the craziest legs I’ve ever seen dancing the boxing boogie in the ring; he was gone, sure, but he did his best to make sure he was okay. He’s not there, there’s chaos and then it goes on. Absolute tragedy.
Smith had moved to a good place to begin the final assault; a sharp right Eubank Jnr had to hold out with his last remaining strength. Not good at all, the fight is lost, his spell is broken, his soul is taken and he falls again, frantically clinging to Smith’s leg. It is instinct, desire, a cause that is finally lost. Smith knew he had to get him out of there from the first moment he hurt him – never give Eubank a second chance, any chance to be honest. And, never underestimate Smith’s finishing ability; If they hurt you, they’ll get you out of there. It was a perfect opposite storm on Saturday night.
To be fair, it’s a messy ending, and that’s to be expected given the extreme surprises. Victor Laughlin, the umpire, waved his hand, Eubank Jnr asked to continue, Smith shouted and the wildest ring fight began. Add chaos outside the ropes with people hugging and screaming or watching in complete silence. There’s a total skepticism and it’s not a bit of an end, it’s just an old fashioned boxing fact. What an ending.
In the chaos, Joe McNally, Smith’s coach, embraced the still-unsteady Eubank and gently guided him back to his corner with the safe embrace and words of Roy Jones Jnr. The great act of kindness finally stopped the great war. Eubank Jnr, you see, was trying to get in shape, getting ready in a flustered state for boxing – Smith, with adrenaline still flying, was ready. McNally wiped out Eubank Jnr. It’s a complete movie in an unforgettable night.
Eubank Jnr wanted to keep fighting, something pure in him wanted to continue. Smith realized that. That’s all that happened in that moment.
The official time was 1-09 of the fourth inning, a losing statistic for a crowd of just under 20,000. A rough statistic that very few people, not even the Smiths, could have predicted. The ending exceeds the craziest fairy tales and nightmares of all involved. It’s suffocating, stirring, a brutal reminder that no other sport ends up like ours.
At the center of the action was Smith, the calmest man in Manchester on Saturday night. For weeks he talked about level and quality; he questioned Eubank Jnr’s skills. In the hours before the game, things took a turn for the worse as Smith questioned Eubank Jnr’s skill more. The board would step in, but thankfully there were sincere and heartfelt apologies from both fighters in the minutes after the fight. In the end, they hugged and Eubank Jnr went to see every member of the Smith family and entourage and extended his hand in congratulations. He looked like a wayward guest at a giant family gathering, passing a line of suspicious relatives, all sitting in judgment. It was an act of class, a truly humbling exchange, a shocking play at last as the midnight curtain drew down the curtain of events.
It starts with a truly terrifying entrance from both, the noisiest old gymnasium since the triumphant days of Ricky Hatton. I took off my headphones to listen. Noise moves me, it’s matter. Smith was the first, glowing. “He likes this,” Joe Gallagher whispered to me. We were both four feet from the picture on BBC Five Live Duty. Then, Eubank Jnr leisurely walked down the aisle. “He looks like he’s alone,” Gallagher suggested. The boxer’s father has gone missing, his brother Sebastian has disappeared. Gallagher made a difficult observation. I got a lump in my throat; he looks like he’s alone.
The first is caution, as we would expect. Eubank Jnr missed, shuffling to put his feet and Smith kept low and raised his hand. Smith named the round. The crowd can exhale on the bell.
Eubank came in second and obviously won third. In the third round, he pushed Smith, landed with headbutts through the guard, and looked happy. However, he still missed a couple of times and there was no panic on Smith’s face as the upper right shots left him open.
There was absolutely no sign, at the end of the third round, of an abrupt end just seconds away. I wanted nine more rounds, knowing they would be even better. The atmosphere is a mixture of pure anticipation and suspense. And then the bell rings for the fourth and final round. They stand, all bets are off.
Eubank Jnr took control again, Smith moved his head, Smith then led him to his corner. Then time slows down, everyone gets up and Smith lands with a right hook, left hook, slightly shifting his weight, connecting two more times before a left, diagonal upper hook Right and left hook fell on Eubank Jnr. The head is bent forward, out and sliding down the pole, the legs are bent, hanging under the body. His eyes were wild and staring. muddle. Smith went to a corner, went to another corner, Eubank Jnr stood up, jumped on two feet, asserting that he was fine. There was a moment of deliberation from the referee and then it continued. And then a few seconds later, it was over for good. More mayhem and people and emotions.
“Sure, he got up too quickly,” Jones Jnr said quietly outside the boxers’ locker room in the middle of the night. “He already knows. We all have to learn.” I checked with Jones Jnr and Eubank Jnr promoter, Kalle Sauerland, to see if there were any issues before the game. No, that’s the answer I got and wanted. It was also the answer Smith deserved.
Smith has great options right now, great choices. It’s all entertaining and it all seems to include some dreamy night at Anfield. What a business, what a night.
VERIFIED – The brilliant Smith proved, in a spectacular sequence, that anyone can be stopped.
