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: Main-event ring walks
It’s time for the ring walks.
Out first... Chris Eubank Jr, to the sound of boos, unsurprisingly! Also to the sound of “Still Dre” by Dr Dre.
The Brighton fighter is 33 years old and has a pro record of 32-3 (23 KOs).
Eubank Jr, son of British boxing great Chris Eubank, is a former two-time IBO super-middleweight champion, and a former two-time WBA interim middleweight champion.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE: Heated press conference ahead of rematch
Smith and Eubank Jr debated the latter’s ‘intelligence’ as a boxer on Thursday, as the Britons engaged in a heated press conference.
Smith took exception to a claim by Eubank Jr’s new coach, Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, who suggested that Eubank Jr is an ‘intelligent fighter’.
“You class Chris as an intelligent fighter? That is one thing Chris is not,” said Smith.
“I’m definitely more intelligent than you, my friend,” responded Eubank Jr.
Smith replied: “Results speak for themselves! You are trying to convince people you’re intelligent? You’ve been fit, you’ve been durable, you have an engine, but you’ve never been classed as intelligent.”
Eubank Jr hit back: “You have one form of fighting, I have many, so if we are going to talk about intelligence, there is no competition.”
More here:
Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith in heated debate over decisive factor in rematch
Ahead of their rematch, the Britons went back and forth over whether Eubank Jr is an ‘intelligent’ boxer
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE: Liam Smith interview
“A lot people used to think Chris was getting under my skin,” Smith told The Independent. “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.”
Exclusive interview in full:
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: Chris Eubank Jr interview
“I wasn’t upset, disappointed; I was pissed off,” Eubank Jr told The Independent recently, recalling the end of the first fight.
“It wasn’t like I got my ass kicked for three rounds and then got knocked out; I was dominating the fight, then I made a mistake and got caught. I was pissed off at myself, pissed off at the referee for not giving me the chance to continue. Whether he was right or wrong, as a grizzled veteran I don’t feel the need to be saved by a referee.
“[But] when I watched the replay back in the changing room, I said to everybody: ‘I’ll take that.’ As in, if I was ever gonna get stopped, that’s the way I’d want it: on my feet, demanding they let me continue. I can accept that, I can sleep at night. I couldn’t sleep at night if I’m getting the 10 count and I can’t get up, or if I’m telling the referee, ‘No, [I can’t continue]’.”
Exclusive interview in full:
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: Steve Bunce preview
This fight has nothing to do with any parts of Smith and Eubank Jr’s colourful fighting history; this is just about repeat or revenge. The last time, the build-up was ugly and personal and this time it is just strictly business. Smith knows he can knock out Eubank Jr, and Eubank Jr knows he can be knocked out. It was, trust me, a revelation to both boxers the way their first fight ended.
Eubank Jr has conveniently claimed that he is a different man under his new coach’s glare, a smarter and better-prepared fighter. He will need to be because, in the first fight, Smith was in control and looked in control. Sure, there was nothing in the fight up until the point where Smith trapped Eubank Jr in a corner and let his hands go. Eubank Jr slumped to the canvas, regained his feet, was dropped again and then got up one more time and was ready, so he claimed, to continue. He was not, it had to be stopped and that is where tonight’s fight starts.
The bad blood remains, the bragging rights are clear and the motive for revenge could not be any higher. At a time of pandering and preening YouTube boxers, crossover fights that only make sense at the bank, this second instalment is genuinely an old-school fight.
Full preview:
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: Main event ring walks
Next up, the main event ring walks...
It’s finally time for Smith vs Eubank Jr 2.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE: Adam Azim def. Aram Faniian
Adam Azim def. Aram Faniian via unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 98-92).
A comfortable win on the cards, though Azim will have learnt from that fight.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE: Adam Azim vs Aram Faniian
Round 10
Final round! Faniian has a second wind, it seems; he’s pressing forward.
Azim catches the Ukrainian on the end of a right cross.
Faniian walks onto a short jab from Azim, who then buries a left hook into Faniian’s ribs.
Azim parries a jab now, before Faniian overcommits to an entry and is almost lifted up by his opponent.
Azim is on course to go 10 rounds for the second fight in a row.
He backs up Faniian and lands a right cross and left hook. Again Azim sneaks a left hook in, this time after a one-two.
And we go to the scorecards.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE: Adam Azim vs Aram Faniian
Round 9
Nice footwork from Azim to avoid two left hooks from Faniian.
Azim with a left hook of his own, landing to the body. Decent counter hook by Faniian.
The super-lightweights are warned for leading with their heads.
Eubank Jr vs Smith 2 LIVE: Adam Azim vs Aram Faniian
Round 8
Azim with a rare left hook to the body. Now he backs up Faniian and throws a right hook to the body.
Azim begins to increase the pressure, and Faniian appears a bit perturbed; he’s covering up – not especially well – and now throwing much back!
Azim has Faniian against the ropes and is picking his moments to unload straight punches. Good left hook from Azim, as Faniian circles away but remains on the ropes.
Another solid left hook from Azim, who now jabs to the body. Short right cross from Azim.
That was Azim’s best round by far!
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