Much has been made of Chris Eubank Jr’s decision to part ways with Roy Jones Jr ahead of his rematch with Liam Smith this weekend – and Jones has now weighed in with a prediction.
Many felt Eubank’s approach to his first fight with Smith – to box on the back foot – was all wrong, and that he would have had more success if he met the proud Scouser head on.
And Jones told Sporting Post that, if ‘Next Gen’ changes his game plan and does just that, he can exact revenge over Smith at the Manchester Arena.
“Chris knows what he has to do in this fight, he knows what he has to do, and he knew after the fight with Liam what he should have done.”
“Hopefully he will listen to Bomac, and hopefully Bomac will get it across to him that you have to go out there and make it a fight and you can’t be moving around and boxing because Liam’s a straightforward guy who is going to bring it to you.”
“I think he wins the fight. You don’t need to box Smith, you need to go out there and fight. You need to be the old Eubank and get down, right, dirty and fight.”
“You can’t box Liam Smith if you haven’t been a boxer your whole career. Even Canelo boxed for a little while, then met him head on. I never thought Liam could hurt Chris, which tells me the elbow had a lot to do with it, so if he meets him head on, he’s the bigger stronger fighter.”
Smith’s stunning fourth round knockout of Eubank earlier this year was one of the most shocking moments of the British boxing calendar thus far, with many feeling Eubank’s granite chin would be able to wear any shots ‘Beefy’ landed.
The stakes could not be much higher on Saturday night for both men, with some observers of the opinion that retirement is the only option for the loser.