Liam Smith believes history will repeat itself when he faces Chris Eubank Jr for the second time this year in June.
Five months after their dramatic fight at the start of this year, the pair will meet for a second time at the very same venue on Saturday, June 17. Smith defeated Eubank Jr in the fourth round of their middleweight bout at the AO Arena in Manchester back in January in what was widely deemed an upset.
Eubank Jr’s loss to Smith was the third of his professional career, and Smith believes defeat number four will come when the two meet again.
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He said: "I know he tried his best to go a different route, but the fight is on now, and I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say for himself in the buildup.
"Let's see what angle he comes with this time. He can't come with angles about how he's never been hurt, he's never been dropped, he's never been stopped, because he just had all three of those things happen to him in one night and it was me who did it to him.
"So I'm interested to see what he comes with this time and I'm also interested to see where he goes after I beat him again on June 17th."
Eubank, 33, activated his rematch clause back in February and, speaking for the first time since the bout was confirmed, revealed he was 'determined' to come back stronger.
"I enjoyed it. I imagine you've been in the sport your entire career and something new happens to you, it's exciting," he said.
"A lot of guys can't come back after a big loss. It breaks them. It breaks their spirit, it breaks their confidence, it breaks their rhythm.
"For me, it just makes me more determined to improve, to figure out why things went wrong and fix those mistakes. And that's exactly what's going to happen in the rematch."
In the co-main event in Manchester, Savannah Marshall will face undisputed super-middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn.
Marshall, 31, has not fought since she lost her own grudge match against Claressa Shields in October, but has a second chance to become the undisputed champion.
American Crews-Dezurn holds all four world titles in the division, and the only defeat on the 35-year-old's record is by Shields in 2016.
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