Tony Bellew has praised Liam Smith for his sensational knockout victory over Chris Eubank Jr whilst claiming the latter is ‘a walking contradiction.’
After branding Smith’s finish as brilliant, Bellew said on Twitter that he was simply the better fighter, shooting down the idea that the weight had a big part to play in Eubank’s first stoppage loss
“Nope… just came up against a better fighter than himself. One that is also technically far better than him.”
“He’s on record saying he could beat anyone from 154 – 168lb … He’s a walking contradiction.”
He’s on record saying he could beat anyone from 154-168lbs mate.. He’s a walking contradiction..
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) January 22, 2023
He then answered a fan who said that the Brighton man wasn’t hurt against George Groves a weight class up, but Bellew was still determined that Smith had his credit.
“Him and Liam both looked drained on the Friday [to be honest] – the difference here is George outboxed him and put him on a jab all night. If I remember correctly he also had one arm?
Liam hurt him with a body shot the round before and it made him weary! He then went for the head [and goodnight]”
Him and Liam both looked drained on the Friday tbh.. the difference here is George outboxed him and put him on a jab all night.. if I remember correctly he also had 1 arm? Liam hurt him with a body shot the round before and it made him weary! He then went for the head and 💤
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) January 22, 2023
It’s no surprise Bellew was quick to respond given that Eubank has recently called him the biggest a**ehole in Liverpool – well, second biggest after Smith.
Eubank’s antagonistic nature drew responses from other fighters too, the most notable of them being Conor Benn. The pair were set to fight in 2022 before Benn tested positive for a banned substance.
Up until recently there was still talk of rescheduling, although it’s undoubtedly lost some of, if not all, the appeal given this latest result. Benn posted online that he would’ve finished Eubank within two rounds.