This weekend, Chris Eubank Jr attempts to avenge his knockout defeat to Liam Smith in an all-British grudge match, but he will do so without his former coach, Roy Jones Jr.
Jones had been in Eubank’s corner for a handful of fights, culminating in the January stoppage loss to Smith before the pair parted ways in the run-up to this much-anticipated rematch.
Eubank has since paired up with Terence Crawford’s coach Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre – a move that Smith feels makes no difference to his chances.
Jones has now spoken out about the relationship to Sporting Post.
“I think complacency was a factor going into that fight. It affected his training completely because usually, he would listen to what I’d tell him to do. But during that training camp, there were several times where he’d question me, or if I’d tell him something, he’d beg to differ.”
Jones put the loss of faith down to an air of invincibility on Eubank’s part.
“I think he lost faith in me. I don’t why, but when he started questioning me, to me that’s an immediate sign you don’t believe what I’m telling you. All because you’ve not been knocked down before, you’re questioning what I’m saying.”
He also pointed out that the severe weight cut Eubank undertook for the ill-fated Conor Benn fight just months before facing Smith took its toll on his man.
“[That] was very, very draining for him. I don’t think it was the total weight cut that was the problem, but it was just the last few pounds.
Because when Chris jumped into the ring with Smith, I thought his legs looked very unstable, so I was a bit worried about it, because of the way he took the last few pounds, to me, it wasn’t very good for him. I didn’t like the way he looked, he looked fine in camp up to that point.”