Chris Eubank and Liam Smith were able to step into the ring together twice throughout 2023. Now, it is looking good that both boxers will want to put together a trilogy match at some point in the near future.
Chris Eubank And Liam Smith Already Had Two Great Fights
The first meeting came in January 2023. Liam Smith, who has a career record of 33-4-1 alongside 20 knockouts, was a ridiculously large underdog coming into the bout. However, he stepped his game up in a big way and was able to put together a performance strong enough to warrant the upset win over Eubank. It wasn’t just by a narrow decision either, Smith dropped Eubank with a devastating shot, giving him a fourth-round knockout.
The second match between these two talents came months later in September. Eubank, who has a career record of 33-3 with 24 knockouts, wanted to get revenge for the knockouts from before. He didn’t want to get knocked down again, so he made it his goal to dominate from the very beginning and he did just that. Throughout the majority of the fight, Eubank was in complete control. That control ultimately led to a tenth-round knockout.
A trilogy fight isn’t guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination, though it certainly feels like both boxers have their eyes on it. Smith in particular is looking to avenge the embarrassing defeat against Eubank as soon as possible. When talking to him about it, he said, “I think it’s probably obvious what I want next. I’d love a third fight with Eubank if he doesn’t get the Conor Benn fight or whatever it might be.”
Smith Believes His Health Was a Problem Leading Up To Loss
There’s more to the story, with some fans speculating that Smith doesn’t have what it takes to compete against a boxer like Eubank anymore. To that, he said, “The same people saying I’m finished after Eubank II were saying I’m the best middleweight in the world after Eubank I. How can I be finished in seven months with no fights in between?”
He went on to point out that he would have retired right on the spot had he boxed well and gotten in a great camp leading up to the fight. Instead, he had to recover from what was a severe back injury in between the two fights. He said that leading up to the fight, he wasn’t even thinking about Eubank, all he cared about was trying to gain weight despite the injury, which was incredibly difficult.
Eubank might be looking elsewhere for his next fight, but Smith is really going all in on getting this trilogy matchup. He ended his interview by saying, “I’ve got more fire in my belly because of the last performance. I’m injury free now, I’ve had a good layoff. It’s down to me to knuckle down and get myself back in good shape, prove a few people wrong and prove I’ve still got a lot left to give.”
Hopefully, Smith is able to fully recover from that back injury and that it’ll make his conditioning easier moving forward. Regardless, he’ll have a stiff test with Eubank if the two boxers decide to run it back in the ring for a third time.
