Chris Eubanks Jr. feels he ‘could have continued’ against Liam Smith but Karl Frosch raises retirement concerns after losing | Boxing News

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Few would have predicted that Liam Smith would beat Chris Eubanks Jr the way he did.

Smith would progress from a lightweight to middleweight, against an opponent in Eubank Jr. who was known for his toughness and powerful combination punches.

But in a very tight contest at the Manchester Arena on Saturday, it was Smith who quickly broke Eubank Jr.

In the fourth round, he expertly demolished Eubank, a perfectly weighted flurry of punches crunching the Brighton man to the canvas and Smith never letting him recover.

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Karl Frosch and Johnny Nelson agree the middleweight division isn’t for Chris Eubanks Jr., but the couple don’t think he’ll retire after defeat to Liam Smith

The result was decisive but Eubank, despite being hurt and stopped for the first time in his career, indicated that he wanted to activate the rematch clause and fight Smith again.

Eubanks Jr. tweeted: “Congratulations Liam tonight, you caught me with a nice shot there, boy. I felt like I could have continued but the referee is responsible and I respect his decision. We’ll do it again soon.”

Smith is ready to fight his opponent again, but next time in his hometown of Liverpool.

Although he will let Eubank Jr take his time. “I think he’ll probably have to tweet about it and he’ll have to talk about it right away. It’s kind of ego and pride. He’s not going to say, ‘Well, I don’t want this match, I’m just out,'” Smith said.

But we might get a different answer when he sits down and thinks about it and watches it again.

Image: Chris Eubanks Jr. will have to decide on his next move

“He will sit with his team and his family and decide if he wants that return. If he wants that return, I will give him that.

“I hit him once, so I’ll beat him twice.”

All Smith wants after that is a fight at Anfield, Liverpool’s footballing ground, no matter who the opponent might be.

“It puts me in a good position right now, with Chris rated at 160 lbs. I can go back to 154 lbs if need be, and we’ll see what happens,” he said of the victory.

“But we will see who will be available and what is right for me, my team and my family.”

What’s Next?

Former world middleweight champion Karl Frosch wonders if Eubank can retire.

“I don’t know how he did the weight or if it was an issue for him, but at 33 years old, middleweight might not be for him. Where does he go from here? This might be blinds on his career. I don’t .” “I don’t want to say he should retire now. It was a bad defeat,” said Froch.

“Where does he go now? Middleweight or super-welterweight? No matter the weight, I don’t think we should discount Liam Smith’s great performance.

Image: Liam Smith was the smaller man but he applied the pressure

“He took his time from round one, he won round one and round two on my card, round three was a bit bad. Liam Smith, I thought he was off to a great start and he was landing more punches and he was putting Chris Eubanks on the back foot and controlling and dictating the pace around the ring.

“Then when he started shooting, the fight was over.”

Former world cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson points out that Eubank Jr. still has options.

“There are battles over there. Look at this place [the Manchester Arena], this place was absolutely swaying. They can do it again. They can do it again at Anfield, wherever it is. “But he has to think about what weight he will carry in boxing and what his dreams are,” said Nelson.

Photo: Smith drives away with Eubank in the corner

Eubank Jr can use the rematch clause in their contract to launch a rematch with Smith. But Smith opened the door to other high-profile fights in the future as well.

Current Unified Super Bantamweight Champion Natasha Jonas said of Smith, “You either do a rematch or you have another big name. He proved tonight that he’s that world-class.”

Karl Frosch agreed. “I think what he might be looking for now might just be getting some money in the bank at the end of his career [Gennadiy] Golovkin is fighting whether he’s still fighting or not, big name, filling this place, what a great atmosphere it was.

“Since Amir Khan Killbrooke I haven’t felt this kind of anticipation and atmosphere. So he deserves at least another big fight and I don’t think it should be for a world title. I think he just needs to be a big name.”

Chris Eubanks Jr. vs. Liam Smith rematch Sunday, January 22nd at 8am and 3pm. Book it now if you are a Sky TV subscriber or a non-Sky TV subscriber.

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