Smith vs. Eubank II: Repeat or Revenge?
By David Melkevik
It's every promoter's favourite tagline… "Revenge or repeat?" and this weekend it's being unleashed again as Chris Eubank gets his rematch with Liam "Beefy" Smith at the AO Arena in Manchester.
Eubank blamed his defeat on a miracle shot - a "beautiful" elbow thrown by Smith in the middle of a combination. Meanwhile, Smith believes there was only one miracle that happened last January - "The miracle was how easy it was". With both fighters, not surprisingly, holding a difference of opinion over the first fight, then what is more likely? Eubank revenging his defeat or Smith getting a repeat victory?
Revenge for Eubank clearly means things must change from his performance in the last fight. The manner of his defeat in the first fight surprised most with Eubank getting stopped, for the first time in his career, in the fourth round. However, just as surprising was how Smith was able to boss the "bigger man" from the first bell and out work him despite Eubank's much lauded "engine".
There could be some truth to the accusation that Eubank in his fourth fight under Roy Jones Jr. tutelage, had made a mistake by abandoning his frenetic and aggressive signature-style by trying to implement the more patient and clinical style of his trainer.
Eubank, though, is sticking to Smith's elbow being the root cause of his loss, yet the fact he has embraced change for the rematch by switching trainers says more than a two-hour press conference ever could.
For this fight-camp in comes Terence Crawford's coach Brian 'BoMac' McIntyre. 'BoMac' rightly receives plaudits for the way his pound-for-pound charge dismantled Errol Spence in July but his involvement is no guarantee as he was also in the corner for Amir Khan's last hurrah -- his sixth round TKO by Kell Brook in 2022. Eubank though is still in his prime, and perhaps the change to 'BoMac' can motivate him. Mix-in a bit of good fortune, Smith's back injury that saw the rematch push-back from June, means Eubank has benefited from a couple of extra months to adapt to his new trainer.
Eubank also switched the location of his fight camp by going back to where he first began boxing, the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas. He admits himself that he was complacent against Smith in the first fight, which was highlighted by having his fight camp in his hometown of Brighton and the quality of sparring he had to prepare. This time, Eubank believes he needs to experience the brutality he encountered in his formative years by engaging in hard sparring with some of the best of the world. Cynically, you could argue Eubank has taken inspiration from the plot of Rocky III, but as changes go, this seems to make sense, especially to those critics of Eubank who have often accused him of over-indulging in the celebrity lifestyle.
So much change shows that Eubank finally acknowledges the level of challenge his opponent represents and is a complement to Smith.
Is there a more underrated boxer in Britain than Smith?
He's over-come the best opposition at domestic level, Liam Williams, Sam Eggington, Anthony Fowler, and, of course, Eubank. While his three defeats came at the elite level, in 2016 losing his WBO World super-welterweight title in a game display against Saul Alvarez, a points loss trying to regain the same title two years later against Jaime Munguia and a contentious points defeat to Magomed Kurbanov in 2021. Yet Smith never has seemed to get the plaudits his boxing CV deserves. Maybe it's a classic case of middle-child syndrome, which is certainly not helped when the youngest sibling has the prodigious talents of Callum Smith. However, his high-profile victory over Eubank means he is no longer in the shadow of the former World Boxing Super Series winner.
If Eubank is to have his revenge, it will not be because Smith is guilty of repeating his mistake in the first fight – complacency. Smith expects this Eubank to be a much changed and much better version of the fighter he so handily dispatched nine months earlier. Even if some believe the underdog Eubank is now a spent force, like the James DeGale he pummeled into retirement in 2019, that is not the boxer who Smith has trained for behind the doors of the Rotunda Gym under the guidance of Joe McNally.
The only question is, can Eubank change so significantly that no amount of preparation by Smith will be enough? If we finally see the version of Eubank that has often been promised but never been delivered, then perhaps "yes". But do not be surprised if Smith's prepared for him too as this really will require a level of revenge by Eubank that is seldom repeated.
What's at stake for both fighters? I'd argue revenge would be more damaging than repeat. If Smith loses, he also loses out on the potential big money fights against GGG and the prospect of luring Kell Brook out of retirement. While for Eubank, there will be frivolous talk of his career being finished if he loses, yet with the highly lucrative Conor Benn fight still available the only thing that we can call time on is the possibility of this exciting match-up becoming a trilogy.
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