Liam Smith has claimed Chris Eubank Jr "fabricated" issues over his fight weight for their previous showdown.
Liverpudlian star Smith finally settled his rivalry with Eubank Jr in Manchester earlier this year, dispatching of his opponent with a brutal KO. After a period of uncertainty while the Brighton native discussed his options , Eubank Jr decided to activate his rematch clause and the pair will meet in a second meeting on July 17 at the same venue.
Eubank Jr weighed in at 159lb for the fight, and had suggested he was concerned about shredding weight when previously required to try and make 157lb for his cancelled clash with Conor Benn. However Smith believes that he was just the better fighter on the night and has claimed his rival pulled the wool over the eyes of the public.
"No," Smith responded to reporters when asked if he believes weight contributed to the outcome of the first fight. "From a fighter's point of view, it was fabricated, he kidded the public. So the picture he put out for Conor Benn was at 159, it was the exact same weight for me. He didn't do the weight cut for Conor Benn, it was all a bluff.
"The weight contract for Conor Benn was 157 he never made 157. He was on the scales at 169, the same weight he fought at me - and the weight you will always be at if you're at a 160 limit. It got blew out of proportion. Chris' body looks great when he's on weight, he looks great when he's on scales but he never made the weight for the Conor Benn fight that was contracted.
"He did the weight cut being clever to even make 159. But that's a you problem, not a me problem. It's got nothing to do with me. No, he was tired because he's done two camps back to back, maybe. I'll accept that. I think it was the two camps back to back, whether he had a break in between, I don't know, I'm not accepting the weight thing."
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Eubank Jr will fight under the same conditions this time out given he lost the first meeting, and will once again be fighting under the stewardship of boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. It will be a pivotal outing for the star's career, which could see him thrown way out of the title picture with a further loss.
But Smith has admitted he relishes the underdog status and believes he has proven enough to his rival. "I'm still the betting underdog," he continued. "It'll be better for me and my fans! I knew I'd sparred Chris, I knew the fight was a good fight but I was always confident I'd beat Chris no matter what way it went.
"The surprise for everybody was me stopping him and dropping him with head shots. If someone told you 'Liam Smith beat Chris Eubank' you wouldn't be like 'wow, really'. But it was made out Chris can't be hurt, Chris can't be dropped."
