Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith will meet in Manchester on January 21 in an all-British crossroads fight.
Eubank, 33, was scheduled to meet Conor Benn in a 157lb catchweight fight last month but the fight was cancelled days out from the event after Benn tested positive for a banned substance. Eubank is now heading back to 160lb after weighing in under the middleweight limit for his axed fight with Benn, as he faces Liverpudlian Smith at the Manchester Arena.
The winner will likely go on to challenge for world honours later next year with the loser left to lick his wounds and deliberate his future. "He’s making a big mistake fighting me," Smith said. "Every time he has stepped up to elite level, he has failed. I am elite and he will fall again.
"If he was at 60 per cent for the fight that never was against Conor Benn, then he’ll need to be at 160 per cent to be ready to face me, a former world champion, in front of thousands of my fans in the North West. For Chris this is a high-risk, low-reward. For me, it’s the perfect platform to show I will rule the world again in 2023. He needs to be prepared for the toughest night of his career.”
Former light-middleweight world titleholder Smith, 34, has two wins under his belt this year having stopped Jessie Vargas in April and Hassan Mwakinyo in September. 'Beefy' hasn't tasted defeat since being outpointed by unbeaten Russian Magomed Kurbanov last May. Smith, who will move up a weight class to face Eubank, signed with BOXXER earlier this year to help set up the fight.
Who wins - Chris Eubank Jr or Liam Smith? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
Eubank has only fought once in the last 13 months, a points win over Liam Williams in Cardiff nine months ago. But he is confident he will out-class his domestic rival.
"Has he been in there with some good fighters? Yes. Are they on my level? No," he said. He's a competent fighter, but class beats competence every day of the week. It's a good opportunity for me to show I'm twice the fighter that he is as well as those he has faced.
“Manchester is an iconic sporting city. It has hosted many legendary fight nights and many memorable fighters have been born there. It'll be a great performance, and the Eubank name will hopefully become a regular feature whenever the boxing history of Manchester is discussed.”
