Liam Smith claims he was ‘killed’ by a gruelling weight cut that left him feeling ‘flat’ in his stoppage defeat to Chris Eubank Jr – and admits his rival was ‘the better man’ on the night
Liam Smith claims he was ‘killed’ by a debilitating weight cut that left him feeling ‘flat’ in his loss to Chris Eubank Jr. – and admits that his rival was “the better man” that night
- Liam Smith suffered a tenth-round TKO loss to Chris Eubank Jr. on Saturday
- The former WBC light-middleweight champion felt “flat” from weight savings
- Smith fell twice and suffered a cut above his eye before being restrained
Liam Smith was convinced that a ’42 pound’ weight reduction proved expensive in his rematch with Chris Eubank Jr.
Smith suffered a tenth-round defeat to Eubank Jr. on Saturday night. in their long-awaited rematch.
The former WBC light middleweight champion fell twice and suffered a cut above his eye before the bout was cancelled.
After Smith Eubank Jr. in January with a devastating fourth-round knockout, a rematch in June was postponed after the 35-year-old suffered a back injury.
After Saturday’s defeat, Smith said, “You don’t have to be a genius to see how flat (I was) after 40 seconds of the fight.
Liam Smith was defeated by Chris Eubank Jr. in their middleweight rematch in Manchester
Eubank Jr dropped the former WBC light middleweight champion twice, leaving him with a cut above his eye
The fight was finally waved off in the tenth round, with Eubank Jr. the win was awarded by TKO
“I think everyone knows and Chris knows how I was with the weight, say at the weigh-in.
“After the injury I came down three stone and so (that is) a lot of weight to move in a short amount of time.
But that’s all I can put my finger on. I was flat, flat when they came from the beginning. I couldn’t move my feet and Chris was sharp early on, so fair game to him.’
Smith ignored the impact of an alleged ankle injury and instead praised his opponent’s performance.
He said, ‘I rolled it (the ankle) around the second or third round, I think.
“I’ve done that before in fights. It was more just, being flat. That just killed me.
Eubank Jr exacted revenge on his opponent after suffering a fourth-round knockout at the hands of Smith in January
Smith felt a 42-pound weight reduction affected his performance, but also gave credit to Eubank Jr. for his performance
“Chris was the better man tonight. I scream when I win, I take defeat when I lose.’
No love was lost between the two leading up to this rematch, but Eubank Jr was also complementary after his win.
He said, ‘Liam is a warrior, I respect him, I respect all his team and his family and his brothers.
“They always work it out, they always risk it. He did not give up, he fought to the last second. So great for Liam and his team.’