Live Boxing Tonight: Liam Smith vs. Eubank Jr Results From Manchester

Image: Live Boxing Tonight: Liam Smith vs. Eubank Jr Results From Manchester
SMITH v EUBANK JR 2 BOXXER 02/09/2023 AO ARENA MANCHESTER PIC LAWRENCE LUSTIG/BOXXER (PICS FREE FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) MIDDLEWEIGHT CONTEST LIAM SMITH v CHRIS EUBANK JNR
By Boxing News - 09/02/2023 - Comments

By Mark Eisner: Chris Eubank Jr. (33-3, 24 KOs) took advantage of a sluggish-looking Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs), who had a bad ankle, to score a tenth round knockout in their rematch on Saturday night at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

Eubank Jr. pushed a hurt Smith to the canvas in the tenth and was credited for a knockout. The referee halted the fight moments later during a barrage of punches from the 33-year-old Eubank Jr. Although most of the punches were missing, the referee halted it anyway, perhaps because Smith wasn’t throwing anything back.

Earlier in the fight, Eubank Jr. dropped Smith in the fourth round. From that point on, it was one-sided, with Eubank Jr. dominating butt doing an awful lot of holding.

After the contest, Eubank Jr. Called out 41-year-old former middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin, who hasn’t fought since September of last year. It’s unlikely Golovkin will indulge him.

Boxing News 24 will be providing live updates & results below of the Smith-Eubank Jr. II event.

  • Unbeaten light welterweight prospect Adam Azim (9-0, 6 KOs) outworked Aram Faniian (23-2, 5 KOs), winning a ten round unanimous decision in the co-feature bout. The scores were 98-92, 100-90 and 99-91. Azim showed little in the way of power and dominated with activity. Faniian wasn’t throwing enough shots to stay in the fight and gave away any chances of winning by not letting his hands go. The 21-year-old Azim will need to get a lot stronger for him to one day win a world title at 140 because he’d be out of his league against most of the top 15 in the division. If this is as good as it gets for Azim, he might be able to win a British or European title,  but not a world title.
  • In a rough back-and-forth rule-bending bout, Olympic super heavyweight bronze medalist Frazer Clarke (8-0, 6 KOs) stopped David Allen (25-6-2, 18 KOs) by a sixth rround TKO. Hitting frequently below the belt, Clarke was fortunate not to be disqualified. He had two points deducted in the sixth round. After the sixth, Allen pulled out of the fight from what is believed to be due to a jaw. The low, ponderous Clarke landed several hard uppercuts in the sixth round that could have caused the jaw injury to Allen. Nevertheless, it wasn’t an impressive performance from Clarke tonight. He didn’t show the type of performance that would indicate that he could hang with the top heavyweights in the division. He’s too slow and hittable right now to cut it with the top teen heavyweights.
  • Jack Cullen (22-4-1, 10 KOs) scored a one-punch third round knockout victory over British & Commonwealth super middleweight champion Mark Heffron (29-3-1, 23 KOs). Cullen, 29, caught Heffron with a short left hook that sent him down. Heffron got back up too quickly and took two steps before collapsing on the canvas. Referee Kieran McCann then waved it off. The time of the stoppage was at 2:43 of the third. Heffron & Cullen both threw left hooks simultaneously, with Jack’s shot getting there first. Cullen’s victory got him back on the winning track, as he’d lost two out of his last three fights by knockout to Diego Pacheco and Kevin Lele Sadjo, both big punchers. Although Cullen lost those fights, the experience that he gained put him in good stead, preparing him for Heffron.
  • Female light welterweight Mikaela Mayer (19-1, 5 KOs) defeated Silvia Bortot (11-3, 3 KOs) by a one-sided ten-round unanimous decision. Referee Steve Gray scored it 100-90 for the 2016 U.S. Olympian Mayer.
  • Undefeated welterweight project Florian Marku (13-0-1, 8 KOs) massacred Dylan Moran (18-2, 8 KOs), obliterating him in the first round of a scheduled ten round contest. Marku was all over the hapless Moran from the opening bell, hitting him at will with punches that he was defensiveness to stop. Finally, referee Mark Lyson stepped in and halted the fight. The time of the stoppage was at the 0:54 mark. It was an excellent win for the 30-year-old Marku, who needs to move his career along toward better opposition before he ages out.
  • Female welterweight prospect Lauren Price (5-0, 1 KO) defeated Lolita Muzeya (18-2, 10 KOs) by a sixth round technical decision. The ringside doctor had the fight stopped in round sixth. Muzeya was knocked down in the fifth and suffered a cut over her left eye from an accidental head clash.

Chris Eubank Jr. will attempt to even the score tonight in his rematch with Liam Smith in their middleweight contest at the AO Arena in Manchester, live on ESPN+. With his new coach Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, Eubank Jr. (32-3, 23 KOs) will be looking for revenge for his loss last January to Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs).

The action will be streamed on ESPN+ in the U.S. beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. In the UK and Ireland, the card will be shown on Sky Sports Box Office.

Will Eubank Jr. win tonight?

“That’s what we’re in this game for, war. Things like this. When he [Liam Smith] comes, step on the pedal even more, put hands on him, beat him up, stomp him, and do everything we’re supposed to do to get the win,” said coach Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre to talkSPORT Boxing about his game plan for Chris Eubank Jr. to use tonight to defeat Liam Smith in their rematch.

“In the first fight, Liam Smith won and won quite convincingly. I think Chris made some mistakes and paid the price, but there are still a lot of people who think he can turn this around on Saturday. Is it possible?” said Spencer Oliver.

“The keyword that you said is ‘mistakes.’ He [Eubank Jr] makes mistakes,” said BoMac. “So that’s what my job is there for, to make sure he doesn’t make mistakes and to watch out for him and the things Liam does good; I’m supposed to watch out for those things to let him know that in the corner.

“I have nothing after this. I can welcome all offers, I can welcome all comers. I’m a free agent. We’ll see after I beat Chris,” said Liam Smith to Fight Hub TV when asked who he wants to face next after tonight’s fight with Eubank Jr.

“I’ll wake up Monday morning, and I’ll be in a very good position again. Kell Brook, Conor Benn, any of the middleweights, 154 events,” Smith continued about which direction he’ll go in next if he’s victorious tonight. “We’ll sit down and see what options.”