Chris Eubank Jr sends message to Conor Benn after stopping Liam Smith in rematch

02 September 2023 , 22:58

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Chris Eubank Jr called out Conor Benn (Image: Getty Images)

Chris Eubank Jr wants to rearrange his grudge fight with Conor Benn after avenging his defeat by Liam Smith.

Eubank Jr stopped his rival in the 10th round after a career-best performance, eight months after he was stopped in four rounds in the same Manchester ring. The son of a legend had been due to face Benn last October but the fight was cancelled at 48 hours' notice after the latter failed a drugs test.

Benn looks set to return to the ring this year - and Eubank Jr is ready to welcome him. "There's some big names out there. I see a few of these guys in the crowd. I'm coming for you Conor, I'm coming for you Kell [Brook]. I'm coming for you. Anybody else who wants it, we're going to put on a show for the fans."

Chris Eubank Jr dropped and stopped Liam Smith (Getty Images)

Eubank Jr also renewed his call-out of Gennady Golovkin, a fight he has been chasing for more than five years. "I want to fight GGG [Gennady Golovkin]. I don't know where he is right now, but wherever you are Gennady, you've been holding onto them belts for too long [Golovkin doesn't currently hold a world title]. I want to take one, so let's get that on if we can."

Eubank Jr had surprised many by demanding a rematch following his fourth-round demolition in January, but he added: "It had to be [revenge]. I had no other choice. There's too many other big fights out there for me that the fans want to see, that I want to be involved in. I had to beat Liam tonight.

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"I'm not a pretender, I'm not a fake. I do the things I say I'm going to do. And I'm not really a bad guy either. I know I got booed in here, there's a couple cheers now which I appreciate. I'm turning a few people on the journey, but we've got a long way to go."

Smith, who appeared to be struggling with an ankle injury throughout the fight, revealed he had struggled to make. the middleweight limit of 160lb. "I was flat from the start; the weight killed me after the injury," he said. "I was just flat from the get-go and Chris was sharp, that's all I can say about it really.

"I couldn't move my feet and when I did i rolled my ankle; I have dodgy ankles anyway so it's just one of those things. Chris was the better man tonight, I shout when I win and I'll take my defeat when I lose. Everyone knows how I was with the weight. After the injury I came down three stone, its a lot of weight to come down."

Martin Domin