Liam Smith has branded rival Chris Eubank Jr a "c***" during a furious rant at their pre-fight press conference.
Eubank Jr and Smith will go toe-to-toe in a domestic middleweight clash this Saturday night at the AO Manchester Arena, as the pair look to set up a world title shot. Tensions have been high around the build-up as the pair have traded fiery words over a range of topics including their previous sparring session and career records.
The pair began shouting at each other once again in a verbal battle at today's press conference where lines were crossed into personal warfare. And Smith was clearly agitated by Eubank Jr's repeated claim he will only be at around 45 per cent for the clash, which saw him launch into a vicious rant.
He shouted across stage at his rival: "You slid into my direct messages first and I replied to you. You made a c*** of yourself and I slaughtered you on social media. Yours come into mine first, who gave him the introduction of IBF and WBA champion? I don't need to win at tables, he is rattled by it. Do you think he is under my skin?
"Do you think I believe all this b*****s that he is going to be at 50 per cent? You are not clever enough." Smith later added: "You were not good enough to fight the other Smith but you are very f***ing lucky you didn't because you would have lost. My point is you weren't good enough to fight one of the best from Liverpool, shall we talk about your hairline?"
The pair continued their heated argument during the face-off where the pair shouted words in each others face as they squared up for the camera. During the press conference, Sky Sports were also forced to issue an apology for alleged homophobic comments during the argument that were made.
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Despite the threat of the fight spilling over into a war of words, Eubank Jr has stated this is a do-or-die fight for his career as he chases a potential world title shot against Gennady Golovkin. He said: "At this stage of my career, 33-years-old, every fight is do or die. Every fight is a must-win and a must-win in devastating fashion. I've got to make statements. I can't be having flat performances. I can't be coasting, I can't be scraping victories.
"I need to be setting the world on fire right now, because I'm not getting any younger. I need these world titles and you need to beat these guys in devastating fashion to be able to challenge for world titles. So that's what we're going to be doing on Saturday. We're going to do it in a responsible and good fashion and we're going to be full of energy on the night 100 per cent."
