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Liam Smith claims he was ‘killed’ by a gruelling weight cut that left him feeling ‘flat’ in his stoppage defeat to Chris Eubank Jr – and admits his rival was ‘the better man’ on the night

Liam Smith claims he was ‘killed’ by a gruelling weight cut that left him feeling ‘flat’ in his stoppage defeat by Chris Eubank Jr – and admits his rival was ‘the better man’ on the night

  • Liam Smith suffered a tenth round TKO defeat to Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday
  • The former WBC light-middleweight champion felt ‘flat’ due to weight cut
  • Smith was dropped twice and suffered a cut above his eye before being stopped

Liam Smith was convinced that a ’42-pound’ weight cut proved costly in his rematch with Chris Eubank Jr. 

Smith suffered a tenth-round defeat to Eubank Jr in their hotly-anticipated rematch on Saturday night. 

The former WBC light-middleweight champion was dropped twice and suffered a cut above his eye before the contest was waved off.

After Smith had beaten Eubank Jr with a devastating fourth-round knockout in January, a June rematch was postponed after the 35-year-old sustained a back injury.  

Following Saturday’s defeat, Smith said: ‘You don’t have to be a genius to see how flat [I was] from 40 seconds of the fight.

Liam Smith was beaten by Chris Eubank Jr in their middleweight rematch in Manchester

Liam Smith was beaten by Chris Eubank Jr in their middleweight rematch in Manchester

Eubank Jr twice dropped the former WBC light-middleweight champion and left him with a cut above his eye

Eubank Jr twice dropped the former WBC light-middleweight champion and left him with a cut above his eye

The fight was eventually waved off in the tenth round, with Eubank Jr awarded the victory by TKO

The fight was eventually waved off in the tenth round, with Eubank Jr awarded the victory by TKO

‘I think everyone knows and Chris knows how I was with the weight, to say at the weigh-in.

‘After the injury, I came down three stone and so [that is] a lot of weight to shift in a short space of time.

‘But that’s all I can put my finger on, I was flat, flat as they come from the get go I couldn’t move my feet and Chris was sharp early on so fair play to him.’

Smith dismissed the impact of a supposed ankle injury, instead praising the performance of his opponent.

He said: ‘I rolled it (the ankle) in around round two or three, I think.

‘I’ve done that before in fights. It was more just, like, being flat. That just killed me.

Eubank Jr exacted revenge on his opponent after suffering a fourth-round knockout at the hands of Smith in January

Eubank Jr exacted revenge on his opponent after suffering a fourth-round knockout at the hands of Smith in January

Smith felt a 42-pound weight cut impacted his performance but also gave credit to Eubank Jr for his performance

Smith felt a 42-pound weight cut impacted his performance but also gave credit to Eubank Jr for his performance

‘Chris was the better man tonight. I shout when I win, I take my defeat when I lose.’

There was no love lost between the pair in the build-up to this rematch, but Eubank Jr was also complmentary following his victory. 

He said: ‘Liam is a warrior, I respect him, I respect his whole team and his family and his brothers.

‘They always come out, they always put it on the line. He didn’t give up, he fought till the last second. So big up to Liam and his team.’

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