Liam Smith opened up about the possibility of defeat in his upcoming fight with Chris Eubank Jr, admitting a loss to Eubank would be a difficult one to swallow.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Gloves Are Off, Smith told host Johnny Nelson that although defeat in any contest is difficult, it was Eubank’s attitude and, in the Liverpudlian’s view, his arrogance that would make losing particularly sour.
“I’d struggle losing to anybody, but I’d really struggle losing to this man.”
“Look at him. The persona, his demeanour, his attitude, his arrogance. I’d really struggle losing to this man.”
The pair will lock horns at the AO Arena in Manchester on January 21st, with ‘Beefy’ moving up from 154lbs to take on Eubank Jr at his natural home of middleweight.
An agreement was made after Eubank’s scheduled meeting with Conor Benn fell through at the last hour due to Benn returning a positive VADA test.
Smith, a former world champion at light middleweight, is widely accepted as the toughest test Eubank will have faced since training under American legend Roy Jones Jr. The 34 year old has delivered two stoppage wins in his last three fights, with Jesse Vargas and Anthony Fowler amongst them.
Eubank was very impressive in the first half of his fight against Liam Williams last month, dropping the Welshman on numerous occasions and seemingly in complete control. However, ‘Next Gen’ seemed to take his foot off the gas in the later stages of the fight and allowed Williams to gain a foothold in the contest.
Fan opinion on the contest is seemingly split down the middle, however bookmakers’ have Eubank Jr a favourite at 1/2, whilst Smith is priced as a 13/8 underdog.
The price for this Sky Sports Pay-Per-View fight was recently announced.