‘I don’t think he’s the cleverest’

Liam Smith is a live 2½-1 underdog going into his fight with Chris Eubank Jr. on Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester, England (DAZN).

The former 154-pound champion fell to Mexican stars Jaime Munguia, Canelo alvarez, and Jaime Munguia. He lost to Magomed Kurbanov, a rising junior middleweight fighter in May 2021. This seemed to be the end of his career as an elite fighter.

However, The 34-year-old then reeled off three consecutive victories – including a 10th-round knockout of Jessie Vargas last April – to reestablish his credentials.

Now he can make another huge step against his English compatriot in a 160-pound bout on home soil.

“It’s a huge fight domestically,” Smith told RingTV.com. “[It’s] a big fight to be involved in, a fight I’m happy with and I’ve called for. It’s one I’m looking forward to.”

He believes that he has a good chance of raising his hand.

Eubank (32-2, 23KOs) is also on an impressive run. He has won six consecutive fights since his defeat to George Groves on points in 2018. These include victories over James DeGale in 2019, and Liam Williams last February.

Eubank has its doubters, however. Smith appears to be in that group.

“When I strip it down and back, how good do I think he is ability wise? I think he’s OK,” Smith said. “I just don’t rate his boxing ability, his boxing IQ, I don’t think he’s the cleverest. I don’t think he’s a world-class middleweight in that sense.”

Smith (32-3-1, 19 KOs) was critical of Eubank’s performance against Williams even though Eubank scored four knockdowns in the one-sided fight.

“He dropped Liam Williams four times and didn’t get him out of there,” Smith said. “I don’t know if he can do the rounds anymore as good as he used to because if I dropped someone four times in a fight, I’d bet every penny I own they don’t see the final bell.”

Smith trained in Liverpool, his hometown, for the fight. This meant that he was able to spend the holidays with his family. Still, he had to make sacrifices he normally wouldn’t make that time of year.

And he’s OK with that.

“I knew I was going to have to have a disciplined Christmas,” he said, “but when I beat Chris Eubank Jr. on January 21st I’ll reap the rewards of being disciplined over Christmas.”

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Fight Week: Chris Eubank Jr. to face veteran Liam Smith in England

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Story originally appeared on Boxing Junkie

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