Liam Smith has scoffed at claims from Chris Eubank Jr’s team that they are contemplating lodging an appeal over the landing of an elbow in their fight this past weekend.
At a cacophonous Manchester Arena, ‘Beefy’ sent the Liverpudlians in attendance into meltdown when he landed a vicious combination in the fourth round that dropped and badly hurt Eubank
The Brighton man gamely rose to his feet and attempted to fight on, however he had clearly not recovered and Smith secured the stoppage seconds later.
Although the result seemed a conclusive one, Kalle Sauerland – Eubank’s promoter – revealed the team are considering launching an official appeal with the British Boxing Board of Control for an alleged elbow landed during the initial combination that rocked ‘Next Gen’.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Smith was quick to rubbish the claims.
“They are clutching at straws. As much as it might be a shock for people to see Chris sitting on his backside like that, just take it on the chin.
You lost, you got stopped, come back from it.
Go file your complaint by all means. If that’s the case, just take the rematch. What are you waiting for?
You’ve got three or four weeks to activate the rematch clause. If it was caused by an elbow, go ahead and activate it and let’s move on.”
The defeat was the first time Eubank has been stopped as a professional, and speculation has arisen that his brutal weight cut to 157lbs ahead of his ultimately cancelled bout with Conor Benn may have depleted the famously durable star.
It remains unclear whether he will activate the rematch clause, move up in weight or even retire.
As for Smith, he has been linked to big money fights with the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin and Kell Brook in the event that Eubank decides to swerve a rematch.