Liam Smith was dominated and stopped by Chris Eubank Jr in a middleweight rematch, taking the tally between the domestic rivals to 1-1.
Smith upset the odds the first time around by sensationally stopping Eubank inside four. His performance was surprising again in the second fight, but not in a positive way.
The Liverpool fan-favourite looked flat and a shadow of the operator from back in January at the very same Manchester arena. He was stopped in the tenth after suffering two knockdowns in the fight.
His trainer, Joe McNally, knew that was the case, and he told Boxing News that his game-plan from early was simply to avoid punishment.
“It just wasn’t Liam. There was nothing he could do … It was a case of guiding him through the fight to not get hurt.”
“It was so heartbreaking, and Liam knew too. His whole demeanour. I think he was a bit embarrassed and ashamed – there was a look in his eyes that said ‘I’ve f***ed up here.'”
McNally went onto say that Smith was under immense pressure to take the fight after his injury postponed the initial date twice. He says they were under threats of legal action if they pulled out again. As a trainer, he wanted the fight later in the year.
“I should’ve followed my head instead of my heart. It’s prizefighting and he’s getting paid a whole lot of money. He’s getting threatened [by] the business side of getting his a**e sued if he pulled out again.
I’m like, eight weeks out, we need this fight at the end of October, November. It’s no good.
I feel for the fans too. Chris’ fans will be super happy. Liam’s fans will be super devastated. But the casual fans have sort of been conned out of a good fight, because Liam Smith was just probably 8% … It’s the politics and the business side of the sport and the stuff that goes on in the background that people don’t see … It makes me angry and disappointed.”
Smith attributed his performance to an unhealthy weight cut after gaining pounds when he was injured and unable to train. Whilst McNally believes the fight should have been pushed back, he also says Smith needs to hold himself accountable.
“He’s fine. Obviously his pride’s a bit dented, but he’s got to deal with that. At the end of the day, going high up in weight, controlling your weight, doing all that, it’s Liam that puts the stuff in his mouth. It’s him that’s got to eat the s**t. Or over-eat. So he’s got to hold himself accountable for that.”
There have been calls for a rubber match between the pair, but signs say that Eubank is already set on moving on.