Big Fight Preview & Prediction: Liam Smith vs. Chris Eubank Jr
By Matt Elliott
Boxing returns to the Manchester Arena this weekend as Chris Eubank Jr seeks to avenge his stoppage defeat to Liam Smith back in January, on a card which, on paper at least, looks to be one of the strongest Boxxer have produced since their collaboration with Sky commenced back in 2021.
It was the manner of the loss that Eubank suffered last time out, which makes this fight even more intriguing. Many boxing fans backed Smith to get the victory, but few expected him to achieve it in such devastating fashion, flooring Eubank for the first time in his thirty-five fight professional career and becoming the first person to stop him. In the aftermath, certain excuses have been used to justify the outcome. A flailing elbow from Smith did catch Eubank during that fourth-round flurry, which saw him hit the canvas. However, it was purely accidental, and Smith landed some heavy punches during that exchange. There is also the excuse, although, in fairness to Eubank, this is not something that he has directly used, that he was physically drained from the Conor Benn debacle, which saw him boil down to almost 157lbs for the ill-fated contest and quickly went into another camp without taking the time to fully recover.
What is certain, is that come Saturday night, there will be no room for excuses. Eubank's career arguably hangs in the balance if he once again fails to overcome Smith, with it difficult to envisage how he carves a path to the top table on the back of consecutive defeats. Indeed, you feel he has activated the rematch clause with exactly that in mind, knowing he needs to avenge the loss to move forward and accept the risks that come with it. Eubank has switched trainers for this camp, admittedly a forced change as Roy Jones is otherwise engaged, and he has teamed up with Brian 'BoMac' McIntyre, perhaps in the feint hope that some of the qualities instilled into Terence Crawford by BoMac, rub off on him. In reality, whilst I believe you can teach old dogs new tricks, you probably can't do it in the space of one training camp, and it's therefore unlikely we see a radically new Eubank when the bell rings on Saturday.
As a result, it is difficult to see beyond another Smith victory. He will come into this fight full of confidence, and now, with the added knowledge that he possesses the tools to hurt Eubank. We are unlikely to see Smith take any unnecessary risks, but if he finds himself in the right position, there is likely to be an added desire to hit Eubank with everything he can. Smith, himself at the age of thirty-five, is on a good run of form and knows back-to-back victories could give him one last opportunity to reach for a world title shot in a division that has stagnated of late.
The undercard features plenty of household names, but perhaps the most notable pick is the heavyweight clash between Frazer Clarke and Dave Allen. Clarke has had a mixed start to his life as a professional, and can perhaps feel let down by Boxxer's decision to withdraw him from the purse bid to face Fabio Wardley for the British title a couple of months ago, citing his need to gain more experience. In Allen, he certainly faces an experienced heavyweight but one who has been largely inactive, formally announcing his retirement in late 2020 before returning to fight three more times against opponents nowhere near the level of Clarke. This is a fight that Clarke needs to win, first and foremost, but he also needs to win in convincing style if people are to start taking him seriously as someone who can compete for British and European honours.
Adam Azim returns to action following a hand injury as he faces Aram Fanyan. After successive KO victories, Azim was taken the distance last time out, and this is another good step up for him, with Fanyan only suffering one defeat in his twenty-four outings.
There is another UK outing for Mikaela Mayer, as she continues her rise through the weight classes, facing Silvia Bortot in a 142-pound catchweight contest. Assuming Mayer comes through the fight unscathed, she has the IBF welterweight champion Natasha Jonas firmly in her sights,
Mark Heffron puts his British super-middleweight title on the line against Jack Cullen. This is his first defence of the title he won by defeating Lennox Clarke last July and in Cullen, he will be facing an opponent looking to bounce back from two defeats in his last three outings, most recently against Diego Pacheco in March. Cullen carries the height and reach advantage, whilst Heffron has the power, evidenced by twenty-three knockouts across his twenty-nine victories. This, therefore, has all the ingredients to be one of the more exciting fights of the night.
Elsewhere, Florian Marku faces Dylan Moran in an exciting-looking contest at welterweight, the unbeaten Frankie Stringer takes on Christian Lopez Flores at lightweight, and Lauren Price will also feature against Lolita Muzeya, who previously faced Savannah Marshall in 2021 and has spent most of her career in a higher weight class.
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