Promoter Ben Shalom of Boxxer is expecting more fireworks in Saturday’s rematch between Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr.
They initially met back in January, with Smith pulling off the big upset by knocking Eubank out in the fourth round.
Entering that fight, Eubank had never been seriously hurt in a fight.
Shalom, who promotes Smith, had backed him as the favorite in the first bout and also backs him as the favorite tonight.
There had been talk of Eubank going in another direction, by facing Conor Benn in the Middle East, but he ultimately pressed forward to avenge his loss to Smith.
Another loss could spell the end for Eubank’s status as a top contender in his weight class.
“Chris has stuck with what he thought as soon as he got out of the ring in January: that this fight was something he had to do, something he wanted to do despite there being bigger money offers out there,” Shalom told Daily Mail.
“He deserves a lot of credit for that. Throughout his career, Chris has been targeted for taking the easy option. This is certainly not the easy option. This is where he wants to prove what a great fighter he is, to cement his legacy and to show that what happened in January wasn’t the end of his career but what he would call a ‘miracle’. There wasn’t one moment when I thought this fight would not happen. I knew both fighters wanted the fight and ultimately if they want to get in the ring, they’ll make sure it happens.
“The only thing that maybe could have stopped it? Liam not being able to come through his injury as well as he has. Not working so hard to make sure he was fit. Liam has been very irritated by the excuses, so I think he wants this rematch almost as much as Chris. He’s a very proud man. But I always knew Chris was determined to do this rematch. He felt his preparation last time was really, really bad. He had a terrible year both personally and professionally. It was very difficult for him and he feels he can now show he’s the better fighter.”
