Chris Eubank got his revenge over Liam Smith in a clinical and punishing manner, stopped him in the tenth round of their middleweight rematch in Manchester.
Eubank’s performance would be impressive from anyone in a boxing ring, but was more so given he returned to the same arena after being badly hurt and stopped for the first time in his career by Smith.
The second fight started similarly to the January bout – tentatively and with Eubank a little busier. Back then, the tide turned when Smith swarmed Eubank and put him down with a barrage of shots.
This time around, Eubank produced a perfectly timed uppercut in the fifth to drop Smith. The Liverpool man just wasn’t at the races, and it would later be speculated that he had picked up an ankle injury in the early rounds. He also admitted he had trouble making weight.
Still, Eubank was in complete control throughout, utilising a stiff jab and that uppercut that struggled to miss when it mattered. In short, it was domination in Manchester, and the punch statistics from CompuBox show as much.
Not only did Eubank clearly out-throw and out-land his opponent in every round, he scored almost six times as many shots as Smith managed. The recorded stats are Eubank landing 193 of 580 attempted to Smith’s 33 of 132.
total annihilation of Smith by Eubank, who landed 193 of 580 punches to just 33 of 132 for Smith. #SmithEubank2pic.twitter.com/E0Y9bxS4Aj
— CompuBox (@CompuBox) September 2, 2023
Eubank’s jab made accessing Smith’s chin easy for him, especially in the second half of the bout where he was really unloading and landing largely unanswered.
Post-fight, Smith would say he was aware of Eubank’s confidence rising because he just wasn’t punching and ‘didn’t have it in him’ to counter.
CompuBox records him scoring just four shots in the final three rounds, highlighting his bravery to stick around when it wasn’t going his way, but also the stellar performance of Eubank – one which some are calling the best of his career with all things considered.