Shane McGuigan weighed in on Chris Eubank Jr’s performance against Liam Smith and what he needs to do to get back to his best.
Smith turned the odds upside down by knocking out Eubank in the fourth round in Manchester – handing Chris Eubank’s son Sr his first stoppage-time loss of a 35-match career.
While congratulating his opponent, Eubank’s famous confidence still shone in the defeat as he called Smith’s save a ‘once-in-a-lifetime punch’ and said he won the match fight until then. He now has the option to rematch in the summer.
McGuigan – who currently coaches the likes of Chris Billam-Smith, Daniel Dubois and Adam Azim – says Boxing that preparation and weight may have affected Eubank, but we must also commend Smith.
“Back to combo punches. Take it back to not mess about. I heard there’s a lot of people down there against him and he doesn’t really take himself or his matches very seriously. I feel like he feels he’s probably going to join this fight.
I don’t know about the weight. Weight is a worry. He looks like he lost a lot of muscle because of Conor Benn’s cut. he’s 33 years old, you can’t build muscle as fast as when you were 21, 22. I don’t want to make excuses for him – I feel like Liam Smith did a great job. He keeps track of his combinations. He hurt him and tracked it down.
Ultimately, the England coach believes that, despite admiring his record as a boxer, Roy Jones Jr is not the right man for Eubank’s corner.
“It wasn’t Chris Eubank Jr hitting George Groves or the other boxers. He needs to recuperate, get some respite, and, personally, stay away from Roy Jones.
Roy Jones is one of my favorite fighters, but there’s a level of authority Eubank Jr needs and a level of toughness in his shots that also forces him to defend.
When he punches Spike O’Sullivan or Nick Blackwell, he punches combo, he punches through the target. He doesn’t take a shot, he doesn’t let loose when he gets out… He’s pretty neat and tidy. Let’s get back to that.”
