By Jake Tiernan: Carl Froch predicts that former WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith will do the job on the 33-year-old former IBO 168-lb champion Chris Eubank Jr in their rematch on July 1st at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
Froch doesn’t explain why he believes Smith will win again, but it’s pretty obvious. Eubank Jr has gotten old and can no longer fight as he once did when he brawled with his mostly domestic-level opponents during his twelve-year professional career.
It’s not that the soon-to-be 35-year-old ‘Beefy’ Smith (33-3-1, 23 KOs) is so good, but instead, Eubank Jr (32-3, 23 KOs) being fundamentally flawed to the point where he’ll get beaten again.
“Seeing what I saw in the first fight, I would think that Liam Smith does the job again,” said former multi-super middleweight champion Carl on his Froch on Fighting Youtube channel.
“Liam Smith told us repeatedly, not many believed him, that he would do the job. So how can you doubt Liam Smith now in the rematch?” Froch continued.
“You can make a couple of excuses for Eubank. Over trained. Maybe not motivated because the Conor Benn fight didn’t happen, but he still got in there, Liam Smith, and did the job against Chris Eubank Jr.”
The last time they fought, Smith disposed of a frail-looking Eubank Jr in four rounds last January in Manchester. Eubank Jr had done well in the first three rounds, easily outboxing Smith from the outside and making him look like an aging fringe-level 154-pounder.
However, in the fourth, Eubank Jr inexplicably retreated to the corner, giving the slow-footed Smith a stationary target to load up on his power shots. Smith then blasted Eubank Jr to the canvas after clipping him accidentally with a left elbow to the top of his head.
When Eubank Jr got up, his legs were gone, making it clear that he couldn’t survive another onslaught. Sure enough, when the action restarted, Smith quickly dropped Eubank Jr for a second time. The referee stopped the bout this time when Eubank Jr dragged himself to his feet.
Smith & Eubank Jr will meet in a business-level fight on July 1 in a middleweight clash. There’s no world title on the line, and the winner will still need to get in line to vie for a shot against one of the champions at 160.
It’s unclear how eager Smith or Eubank Jr is to take on the middleweight champions Jermall Charlo, Erislandy Lara, and Janibek Alimkhanuly. We haven’t heard them calling out these champs.
