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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Verri

Chris Eubank Jr promises ‘supernatural’ performance as he looks for revenge against Liam Smith

Chris Eubank Jr has vowed to produce a “supernatural” display in his bid for revenge against Liam Smith.

The 33-year-old was stopped for the first time as a professional in January as Smith secured a fourth-round victory, and they pair meet once again on Saturday night in Manchester.

Smith went into that bout as the underdog but is unsurprisingly the favourite on this occasion, as he looks to continue his path back to the top of the sport having been light-middleweight world champion before defeat to Canelo Alvarez in 2016.

Eubank was typically confident in the press conference ahead of the fight, though admitted there can be no excuses should he be beaten for a second time.

“The performance will be exquisite, supernatural, a beautiful artistic display of savage boxing,” Eubank said.

“Even to Liam, he may not admit it, he was not expecting the [first] fight to go how it finished. Nobody did. I have to prove that I am the better fighter.

“Me saying it, me believing it, is not enough. If he pulls it off again, I can’t argue with anybody. I can’t argue with him. I can’t argue with the boxing public. He will be the better fighter and that will be it.”

Eubank repeatedly insisted after the first fight that he had been caught by a “once in a lifetime shot”, while also claiming that an elbow from Smith had been a factor in the knockdown.

However, the Liverpudlian has been keen to dismiss those comments, and stated he had been surprised with how easily he got the better of Eubank earlier this year.

“He blames everyone bar himself,” Smith said. “You make the mistakes, take it on the chin yourself.

“The miracle was how easy it was. The fight never got going. I [only] touched you.”

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