Ben Shalom claims ‘Chris Eubank Jr’s ‘career is on the line’ ahead of rematch with Liam Smith
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Chris Eubank Jnr’s career is on the line’: Ben Shalom claims Next Gen ‘had no choice’ but to fight Liam Smith in ‘monster rematch’ after ‘sleepless nights’ following their short and brutal first encounter
- Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr. will face each other in a rematch on June 17
- Shalom says Eubank Jnr risked his ‘career’ by taking the rematch
- Shalom also says Smith isn’t phased by the fans’ “elbow” comments
Ben Shalom Says Chris Eubank Jr. risked his ‘career’ by going into the rematch with Liam Smith, but claims that ‘a fighter at his level, with his pride, had no choice’.
Eubank Jnr has agreed to fight Smith for a second time after suffering the first knockout defeat of his professional career against Liverpool at the AO Arena in Manchester at the start of the year.
However, boxing fans have been wondering if Eubank should face Smith again after he was sent to the canvas twice in one round before being stopped a minute and nine seconds into the fourth round in their first fight.
Speaking to Sportsmail, Shalom actually revealed that he was against the rematch. He said: “When the rematch clause was first put in place I was kicking and screaming. I didn’t want it there. When it was activated I again thought it was not necessary.
“But when you look at the landscape and you see Chris Eubank Jr come in with a different attitude and a more serious attitude, knowing that his career might be on the line, I think wow, this is a monster fight.
Ben Shalom Says Chris Eubank Jr. risked his ‘career’ by taking the rematch with Liam Smith, but claims that ‘a fighter at his level, with his pride, had no choice’
Eubank Jnr has agreed to fight Smith for a second time after suffering the first defeat of his professional career against the Liverpool at Manchester’s AO Arena early this year.
This is much bigger than the first. The first one felt like the Chris Eubank Jr show and fans didn’t really believe Liam Smith could win that fight and he emphatically won it.
“Now Liam Smith is the A-side. The career of Chris Eubank Jr. is at stake. It’s a huge, huge fight. But all credit to Chris Eubank Jr. He’s going back to the same ring, the same arena and it’s all on the line.”
When asked why he thinks Eubank Jr. was adamant about triggering the rematch clause, Shalom said it had to do with “pride” as the 33-year-old would not be able to sleep at night without trying to avenge his defeat.
Shalom said, “I think as a fighter at his level with the pride he has, he had no choice. Knowing that the rematch clause was there for him to trigger, I think he needed it.
‘He won’t be able to sleep at night [after losing to Liam Smith]. I know Chris Eubank Jr. and this man is a winner. He is a very intelligent man. What happened to him in January shocked him as much as anyone else.
“He must have been sitting there for the past few months figuring out what went wrong. Was it the weight reduction, was it the two camps, was it the fact that he came in and wasn’t well prepared, was it the atmosphere. He will have solved it. That’s why he had to fight that fight.’
Eubank Jnr’s team considered appealing to the British Boxing Board of Control against the result of their first fight.
Smith sent Eubank Jnr to the canvas twice in one round before stopping him one minute and nine seconds into the fourth round during their first fight
Eubank Jnr was floored in the fourth round after a brutal uppercut from the Liverpudlian. However, fans were convinced that Smith actually caught his rival with an elbow
Eubank Jr. stood up, but there was already swelling under his right eye
The referee finally called off the fight to crown Smith the winner of their January fight
They used Smith’s elbow in a combination that grounded their fighter in the fourth round of their Manchester fight.
Fans also claimed that slow-motion footage showed Smith attempting to hit Eubank Jnr with a left hook, but instead caught him with his elbow on the side of the temple.
When asked what Smith thinks of those comments, Shalom said, “If you know Liam, he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. He knew he was going to win that battle in his head. He was clearly the favorite in his head and he proved it to everyone. That’s all that matters to Liam Smith.
He will look forward to doing the same and winning even more emphatically if at all possible. Beefy is now the A-side and headlining a Box Office fight for the first time. It’s an important moment for him. He deserves it after what happened in January.’