Chris Eubank Jr has no plans to miss Christmas dinner in training for Liam Smith, who vows to use lessons from Canelo Alvarez loss | Boxing News
Chris Eubank Jr won’t miss Christmas dinner, despite his preparations for a fight against Liam Smith, who says his British rival is nowhere near the class of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
The middleweight duo are braced for a defining night in their careers in Manchester on January 21, live on Sky Sports Box Office when they meet in a fight that could make or break reputations and ambitions.
Eubank Jr has mirrored the approach taken to his cancelled fight with Conor Benn in suggesting a less-than-100 per cent version of himself will be good enough on the night; Smith, for his part, is confident he can make light work of anything other than a prime opponent.
Smith believes his superior boxing ability will be the key to victory against Eubank Jr and suggests he will draw on the lessons of his ninth-round stoppage loss to former pound-for-pound No 1 Canelo in 2016.
“I feel like that’s played a big part in my career,” ‘Beefy’ told Sky Sports News. “Chris is looking at that like ‘you’ve been down, you’ve been stopped’, I said to him face to face: ‘Yeah I got stopped with a body shot off the best fighter in the world, the No 1 fighter in the world at that time’.
“You’re no Canelo Alvarez. Chris Eubank couldn’t lace Canelo’s boots, so I’m confident the Canelo fight taught me a lot as a man in my pro career.
“Again, Chris Eubank is no Canelo Alvarez and what I learnt in that fight will be enough to beat Chris.”
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Liam Smith admits he would ‘struggle’ to cope with a defeat against Chris Eubank Jr – The Gloves Are Off is coming soon on Sky Sports!
The tone of the build-up is expected to reflect that of the fight itself: neither man backing down, with Eubank Jr embracing his ‘bad guy’ image while attempting to unsettle Smith.
“I’m a little bit clever, he’s not going to eat me away with words, I’m just correcting him every time he says something that doesn’t make sense,” Smith added. “He feels that’s getting under my skin, it’s not. It’s far from it.
“If I was to go for him or throw something – something out of character – then he’s got under my skin.
“I said to him before: ‘you feel you’ve got under my skin, I’m just telling you what I’d tell any opponent sitting across the table to me – you will not beat me at 50 per cent’.
“I don’t think Chris Eubank at 100 per cent beats me, so 50 per cent? Good luck to you, because I’ll wipe the floor with you.”
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Liam Smith says the lessons he learnt in his nine-round TKO loss to Canelo Alvarez will help him in his showdown with Chris Eubank Jr on January 21st.
Eubank Jr: I would beat Smith with a bad arm!
Eubank Jr joked he has a “100 per cent win ratio” in press conferences throughout his career, and the 33-year-old is known for his tendency to prod and poke opponents in a light-hearted search of a mental edge during the build-up to fights.
He has been bullish in suggesting he fights at a level above to Smith, downplaying his opponent’s ability to surprise him come fight night.
“I learnt that even at this age I have still got it,” Eubank Jr told Sky Sports News. “I have a jab, I have foot movement, I have great defensive ability. That’s what I’ll do against Liam Smith in January.
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Liam Smith says he took ‘great confidence’ from sparring with Chris Eubank Jr and says he ‘hurt him well’ when the last two were in the ring together.
“Liam Smith is very predictable, he is very ABC, 123 type fighter. There nothing he is going to do that is going to surprise me. There’s no tricks up his sleeve.
“I can box, I can brawl, I can run, defend, attack. I have all the options. He uses the same tactic each time and I will exploit that.
“I have told him that I need to be 50 per cent to beat him, that’s in my humble opinion. If I had a bad foot, a bad leg and a bad arm I would deal with him. He has to prove me wrong. He says he’s going to knock me out, but I hear that narrative each time I get into the ring. It never happens. Maybe it’ll be different, but I doubt it.”
Having suggested earlier this week he planned on eating fried chicken over the next eight weeks ahead of the fight, Eubank Jr insisted he has no plans to miss out on his Christmas dinner either amid the typical nutritional requirements of a training camp.
“Christmas Day, Boxing Day, birthdays, Easter, New Years – Chris Eubank Jr is in the gym. We sacrifice what’s needed to perform under the big lights at the highest levels.
“Christmas Day I will be in the gym. I make weight responsibly. I make weight well. I have my turkey and sausages with bacon wrapped around. I am not going to sacrifice my Christmas dinner, not for Liam Smith.”
Fight fans can pre-register for tickets now. Tickets will be available on general sale on Thursday, December 1.
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