Liam Smith hinted at the possibility of defeat in the upcoming match against Chris Eubank Jr, admitting defeat to Eubank would be a hard defeat to swallow.
above Sky Sports’ Gloves are off, Smith told host Johnny Nelson that although failing in any contest is difficult, it was Eubank’s attitude and, in Liverpudlian’s view, his arrogance that would make the defeat so especially sour.
“I would fight to lose to anyone, but I really fight to lose to this man.”
“Look at him. His personality, his attitude, his attitude, his arrogance. I will really fight to lose to this man.
The pair will face off at the AO Arena in Manchester on January 21, with ‘Beefy’ rising from 154 lbs to take on Eubank Jr at his natural home in middleweight.
An agreement was made after Eubank’s scheduled meeting with Conor Benn failed at the last hour due to Benn testing positive for VADA.
Smith, a former light middleweight world champion, is considered by many to be the toughest test Eubank will face since training under American legend Roy Jones Jr. The 34-year-old has had two stoppage-time wins in his last three matches, with Jesse Vargas and Anthony Fowler among them.
Eubank was impressive in the first half of a match against Liam Williams last month, knocking out the Welshman multiple times and seemingly in complete control. However, ‘Next Gen’ seems to have let loose in the later stages of the fight and allowed Williams to gain a foothold in the competition.
Fan opinion on the contest seems to be divided, however, bookmakers rate Eubank Jr as 1/2, while Smith is valued at 13/8.
The price for this Sky Sports pay-per-view match was recently announced.
