Chris Eubank Jr has claimed he "rattled" upcoming opponent Liam Smith during a series of private messages.
Eubank Jr will make his first appearance in the ring since January last year when he takes on bitter rival Smith at the AO Manchester Arena next Saturday night. The British star looked set to face another long-term foe Conor Benn last year, but it was cancelled on short notice after news broke of the rising star failing a drug test.
It has been a frustrating 12 months for Eubank Jr who now has a unique opportunity to settle the scores in another high-profile domestic clash before targeting world honours later in the year. And Eubank Jr has revealed he decided to direct message Smith with the fight drawing ever closer, as he feels anger could hamper his rival's gameplan in the showdown.
He told Sky Sports : "I've said a lot to him in the build up to this fight. I'm in his head. He even slid into my DMs a few days ago, messaging me on Instagram. So I know I've rattled him. I just look forward to finishing off the job on the 21st. "I actually can't repeat a lot of the language that he used in those DMs.
"But he is not a happy bunny, let's just put it that way. I think that his frustration and his anger is going to play into how the fight is going to unfold. And it's not going to play to his advantage, I know that. I sent him back a couple of little zingers. You've got to. Who knows, maybe on fight week I'll screenshot it and post it."
"I think that there are levels to the sport, there are levels to the game, I think my highest level is going to be too much for him. I respect him. He's done a lot in the sport of boxing over many years, as have I. But I feel like at this moment in time we're two separate animals and it's going to be too much for him on the night when that bell goes."
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Smith defeated Anthony Fowler, Jessie Vargas and Hassan Mwakinyo last year in a successful 2022 for the Liverpudlian, who has put himself in contention for a world title shot. And 'Beefy' believes he has what it takes to derail Eubank Jr's plans of meeting the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin later in 2023.
"I feel like that's played a big part in my career [Canelo stoppage]," Smith said. "Chris is looking at that like 'you've been down, you've been stopped'. You're no Canelo Alvarez. Chris Eubank couldn't lace Canelo's boots, so I'm confident the Canelo fight taught me a lot as a man in my pro career."
