Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr go head-to-head on The Gloves Are Off before their rematch, live on Sky Sports Box Office from the AO Arena in Manchester on September; Smith vs Eubank II: The Gloves Are Off is available now
Saturday 26 August 2023 19:47, UK
Liam Smith confronted Chris Eubank Jr when they went head-to-head on The Gloves Are Off.
Ahead of their rematch, live on Sky Sports Box Office, Liverpool's Smith scoffed at Eubank's claim that an elbow landed within the salvo of punches that dropped and stopped the Brighton man to end their first fight in January.
"Do you think I'm that good I can throw an elbow in a nine-punch combination?" Smith told him directly.
Eubank replied: "I think you're that sneaky. I think you're that crafty as an old fox."
"I think this guy was in the gym each and every day [thinking]: 'Right, we're going to do a one-two and then we're just going to bring that little puppy [his elbow] right across.'
"Immediately the eye bulges up," Eubank continued. "I've taken big shots from big guys. Guys that hit way harder than him and with a punch it's a flash of white and then I'm right back.
"When that elbow hit it went dark. This is not a fancy. This is not a story because I've never been down in my career.
"The elbow landed. You followed up with some great shots, some pinpoint shots. Take that, that's a compliment."
Smith, of course, denies those claims and could only laugh as Eubank maintained this argument over the elbow controversy.
As far the Liverpool man is concerned he made his point in their first fight. "Good to just prove Chris wrong," he said, telling his rival: "You can't beat me how I beat you."
Eubank however insists that their past is not going to dictate their future. Defeat, he argues: "It's part of the game. It's part of growing as a fighter. Nobody's perfect and now we get to do it again. To make sure that we really know who the better fighter is.
"There's still a lot of questions that need to be answered. What happens when these two men get into a dog fight and they're trading. No flash knockdowns. No jabbing competition. What happens when it gets saucy?"
Smith continued to throw questions at him. "You going to come for a fight this time?"
"How damaging to your ego and pride is being stopped the way you were stopped and dropped?"
But Eubank sought to cast doubt on Smith's confidence.
"When a man celebrates the way he celebrated, hugging and crying and 'Oh my God,' he was not expecting for that to happen," he said.
"That's how I know he doesn't really believe he's a better fighter than me.
"When I beat him in the rematch, you're not even really going to see me smile."
The Liverpudlian however predicted: "It's a Liam Smith win again. I'm confident I can do the exact same to Chris.
"It ends. No more Smith-Eubank.
"Enjoy your camp Chris, with all your superstars. It could be your last one."
