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Liam Smith is a 2.5-1 underdog who faces Chris Eubank Jr. at AO Arena (DAZN) in Manchester, England on Saturday.
The former 154-pound champion fell short against Mexican stars Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia. And he lost to junior middleweight contender Magomed Kurbanov in May 2021.
But the 34-year-old has since gone on a three-game winning streak, including ten.th– Round knockout of Jesse Vargas last April – to re-establish his eligibility.
And now he has a chance to take another big step against his fellow Englishman in the 160-pound battle at home.
“This is a big domestic fight,” Smith told RingTV.com. “[It’s] A big fight involved, a fight I’m happy with, and one I’m looking forward to. “
Especially because I believe there is a good chance of getting your hand raised.
Eubank (32-2, 23 KOs) has also been impressive, winning six in a row since losing by points to George Groves in 2018. This includes decisions against James DeGale in 2019 and his most recent fight against Liam Williams. February.
But Eubank is still skeptical. Smith seems to be in that group.
“If I strip it back, how good do you think he is? I think he’ll be fine,” Smith said. “I don’t rate his boxing ability, his boxing IQ. I don’t think he’s the smartest. In that sense, I don’t think he’s a world-class middleweight.”
Smith (32-3-1, 19 KOs) was critical of Eubank’s performance against Williams, even though Eubank scored four knockdowns in a one-sided fight.
“He dropped Liam Williams four times and couldn’t get out of there,” said Smith. “I don’t know if he’s going to be as good a round as he used to be, because if I’m in a match against somebody and he drops four times, every penny I have they give me the last bell. Because I bet you won’t see it.”
Smith was training in his hometown of Liverpool for his next fight and was with his family during the holidays. Still, he had to make sacrifices that he wouldn’t normally make during that time.
And he’s fine with that.
“I knew I had to have a disciplined Christmas,” he said.
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