Chris Eubank Jr has insisted he "slipped" and was only fighting at "50 per cent" of his ability against Liam Smith.
Smith knocked out Eubank Jr in devastating fashion on Saturday night to push himself one step closer to a middleweight world title shot. After an evenly contested three rounds, Beefy' backed Eubank Jr into a corner with a flurry of punches in the fourth stanza but it was an uppercut that did the most damage, followed by a left hook that sent Eubank Jr down.
Eubank Jr impressively got back to his feet after the knockdown and referee Victor Loughlin took a close look at him before allowing the fight to proceed. Smith wasted no time in hunting his rival down and dropped him again which then saw the fight waved off, with Eubank Jr being so dazed that he even tried to punch Smith after it was stopped.
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Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr, who was in the corner of Eubank Jr, said the Brit was in good spirits after his loss. "To be perfectly honest with you, he's taken it better than I did! He was like 'Ok, I guess 50 per cent didn't work, I'll come back at 75.' That's funny because he's still joking and having a good time. He understands this is boxing and when you fight the best boxers in the world like that and challenge all comers, this might happen," Jones told iFL TV.
Eubank Jr has kept up his gimmick of not fighting at 100 per cent after joking that he would only need to be at 60 per cent to beat domestic rival Conor Benn last October. The son-of-a-legend feels he was dominating the fight before being knocked out and insists the second knockdown took place because he "slipped".
"I was dominating the fight and then I got caught. In my mind, I'm still the better fighter," he told Sky Sports. "Obviously I wouldn't have much of an argument after a loss, but I have an argument to prove I'm the better fighter. He caught me with a once-in-a-lifetime shot. I feel like I was dominating the fight before that happened. Liam came at me again, threw a bunch more punches, I slipped and then the referee stopped it."
Eubank Jr has already welcomed a rematch with Smith, who has demanded a second fight to be contested at a lighter weight and to be held at Anfield. 'Beefy' is also open to welcoming Kell Brook out of retirement for his next fight and is keen on facing Gennady Golovkin for his middleweight world titles.
