Eubank vs Smith LIVE: Results from rematch after late TKO
Re-live updates after Eubank Jr avenged his stoppage loss to Smith
Chris Eubank Jr gained revenge against Liam Smith on Saturday, stopping his rival as the Britons returned to the scene of their first clash.
Smith dropped Eubank Jr twice at Manchester’s AO Arena in January before the referee waved off the middleweight bout, but the boxers’ roles were reversed on Saturday. In the same building, it was Eubank Jr who dropped Smith twice before securing a TKO in the 10th round.
Eubank Jr, 33, looked the slicker fighter all night, switching targets between the head and body while picking his shots wisely. Meanwhile, 35-year-old Smith looked languid and was watching rounds slip away from the first bell. The first knockdown came in the fourth round – the frame in which their first fight ended – as Smith was dropped to a knee and smartly spat out his mouthguard to buy time. In fact, he bought more than he might have imagined, briefly quelling Eubank Jr’s momentum.
When the action resumed, Eubank Jr sought a finish but – as it eluded him – he elected patience as the bout wore on. In the 10th round, however, he put down Smith again with a left hook after a fast start to the round. Smith let out a deep breath as he rose to beat the referee’s count, with blood trickling from a cut above his right eye. The Liverpudlian was only delaying the inevitable, however, as Eubank Jr backed him up to the ropes and unloaded shots, overwhelming Smith. Eventually, referee Kevin Parker stepped in to wave off the fight, sealing Eubank Jr’s redemption.
Re-live updates and see all results below. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
Here we go, Mayer vs Bortot! Ten two-minute rounds are scheduled here.
Natasha Jonas is on commentary...
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
Speaking of Alycia Baumgardner, by the way, here’s the recent news around her:
Alycia Baumgardner refuses to stay ‘silent’ after failed drug test
The super-featherweight queen tested positive for mesterolone and methenolone in July, she revealed
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
This is Mayer’s third straight fight in England, following two in a row in London, and she’s definitely growing in popularity on these shores.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
Next up is Mikaela Mayer vs Silvia Bortot, a women’s super-lightweight fight.
Mayer is a former unified super-featherweight champion, who lost her belts to Alycia Baumgardner in a very close fight in October.
American Mayer has since bounced back from that loss – the first defeat of her pro career – with a decision win against Lucy Wildheart in April.
That fight was at lightweight, and Mayer, 33, is moving up again here as she targets a title fight with Natasha Jonas in the near future.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
Sky released the new documentary Hatton this week, which focuses on the life and career of British boxing icon Ricky Hatton.
The Independent spoke to the “Hitman” about the film, as well as the “paranoia” and “depression” that threatened to thwart his happy ending.
Thankfully, Hatton has finally found that ending.
Full interview:
Finally, Ricky Hatton has his happy ending
Hatton, a new Sky documentary, details the rise, fall and rehabilitation of a boxing icon
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
The Independent also interviewed Chris Eubank Jr ahead of tonight’s rematch...
“I wouldn’t say I’m a masochist, no.” It was a reassuring start from Chris Eubank Jr, as he reflected on his defeat by Liam Smith – the first stoppage loss of his career, and an experience he says he enjoyed.
“Imagine being in a sport your entire life, thinking you’ve experienced every single thing there is, then something new happens at 33 years old,” the Briton explained to The Independent. “I’ve been fighting since I was 14, and I’ve never been buzzed like that, or had to get up, recuperate, march forward, then go back down again, get back up. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be in a position where a referee could stop a fight for me.
“So, it was new, it was crazy. Looking back on it, it was exciting. It was a huge adrenalin rush, probably the same amount of adrenalin as I would get from knocking a guy out.”
Full interview:
Chris Eubank Jr on Liam Smith, adrenalin, and how to be ‘box office’
Exclusive interview: The divisive boxer is back this weekend, aiming to avenge his first stoppage loss
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
The Independent spoke to Liam Smith back in July. Here’s just some of what he had to say:
“A lot people used to think Chris was getting under my skin. I don’t lose sleep over Chris, he doesn’t change my day. Me and Chris’s personalities... Somebody with Chris’s persona is just someone I wouldn’t get on with in any form of life.
“I just don’t like them type of divas, who think everything’s got to revolve around them. In the build-up to the last fight, we were waiting on him a lot with promotion stuff, head-to-heads. It was on Sky Sports Box Office and the people trying to produce the advert were asking us, ‘Can you meet in the middle of the ring and touch gloves with two hands?’ He was like: ‘No, I don’t touch gloves with two hands.’
“He was just being a nuisance, petty, spoilt, a diva. I just thought: ‘It’s nothing to me, you’re not doing my head in, but these people are trying to do a promotion. You know what you signed up for, just do it.’ He was just a nightmare – for other people really; I didn’t give a s*** about it.”
Full interview:
Liam Smith: ‘Chris Eubank Jr is a nightmare – not for me, for other people’
Interview: The Liverpudlian reflects on his win over Eubank Jr, as the pair prepare for a rematch this weekend
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
The last fight between Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr finished in chaos and confusion back in January.
It was perhaps the only way the fight and the week could finish; there was a capacity crowd of just under 20,000 in Manchester and a ring packed with screaming people. Tonight they do it all again and this time, it is serious. Manchester is once again the venue.
Eubank Jr was dropped twice in the fourth but was up on unsteady legs, insisting he could continue, when it was called off after 69 unforgettable seconds. Eubank Jr was actually steered back to his own corner by Smith’s trainer, Joe McNally. It was an act of compassion surrounded by a night of hate and violence.
The fight was stopped at the right time.
Full preview from Steve Bunce:
Eubank Jr, Smith and the revelation that changed everything
The rivals meet again in Manchester this weekend with this old-school fight showcasing boxing at its very extreme
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
Florian Marku wastes no time, stopping Dylan Moran in the first round!
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE
Full card (subject to change; includes undercard results so far)
Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr (middleweight)
Adam Azim vs Aram Faniian (super-lightweight)
Frazer Clarke vs David Allen (heavyweight)
Mark Heffron (C) vs Jack Cullen (British super-middleweight title)
Mikaela Mayer vs Silvia Bortot (women’s super-lightweight)
Florian Marku def. Dylan Moran via TKO
Lauren Price def. Lolita Muzeya via doctor stoppage
Frankie Stringer def. Engel Gomez via decision
Who is fighting on Eubank vs Smith 2 undercard tonight?
Eubank Jr is out to avenge a stoppage loss to Smith, eight months after their first clash
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