Via Charles Brun: Chris Eubank Jr is in talks with former WBO middleweight champion Liam ‘Beefy’ Smith for a bout that could take place on December 17 or early next year.
If the battle between Eubank Jr vs. Smith is made, it’s going to be at the pay-per-view at the box office, it’s kind of annoying to think about.
While fans of British heavyweight boxing will love the idea of combining Eubank Jr and ‘Beefy’ Smith, those looking to watch quality fights at world level will skip this one.
First, Eubank Jr should be fighting high-level opponents from 160 lb at the end of his career, not 154 lb because he’s aged against their best fighters.
Eubank Jr, 33, has again set his sights low by choosing to take out another domestic competitor, 34-year-old Smith (32-3-1, 19 KOs), but this has been his stereotype during his 11-year professional career.
Eubank Jr (32-2, 23 KOs) is ready to move forward with his career after his big battle with Conor Benn was canceled due to Benn testing positive for the banned substance clomifene.
Chris Jr is facing a welterweight in Benn up to now against a lower middleweight; it makes you wonder if Eubank Jr doubted himself about whether he could take on fighters from the 160 lb division.
Instead of going up against Liam Smith, Eubank Jr should go up against these guys at middleweight:
- Jaime Munguia
- Carlos Adames
- Esquiva Falcao
- Erislandy Lara
- Janibek Alimkhanuly
- Ryota Murata
It is unrealistic at this point when expectations of Eubank Jr suddenly start to aim high for world-class candidates at 160th place. Whatever Eubank Jr’s career ambitions, it is. went up in smoke after a 12-round unanimous decision loss to George Groves in the 2018 Super Series world boxing tournament.
“Brighton’s 33-year-old middleweight is in talks about a box office showdown with Liverpool’s Liam Smith. Boxxer and Sky Sports are leading the discussions with December 17 as the proposed date for the match,” The Daily Star.
“Negotiations are ongoing with both fighters and they have yet to sign a contract with concerns on both sides of the approaching date. That means it could be pushed back until early next year, but Sky has an eagerness to prepare for the fight in 2022.”
Liam Smith knocked out his final three opponents, beating Hassan Mwakinyo, Jessie Vargas and Anthony Fowler. Before that, Smith lost to Magomed Kurbanov in the decisive round 12 in 2021.
Smith’s other two losses were against Munguia and Canelo Alvarez. Interestingly, Smith lost the 154-lb WBO title to Canelo in 2016 and he failed to regain the belt even though it was arguably the easiest title in the last six years.
