Chris Eubank Jr gets revenge with 10th round TKO victory over Liam Smith in Manchester rematch - 'I had no other choice'

Chris Eubank Jr took revenge on Liam Smith with a vicious 10th-round TKO victory in Manchester on Saturday night.

Returning to the scene of his defeat against the same opponent back in January, Eubank pushed Smith back from the opening bell as he showed determination to force a different result this time around.

Eubank's approach was to pile up punches and he threw 33 to Smith's 16 in the first round. He was constantly jabbing and more selective with his power punches.

There was an apparent accidental elbow from Eubank in the first too, and the referee was forced to intervene after an undisciplined start.

Smith drove forward in the second, but Eubank's jabs forced him to keep his distance. After some grappling, Eubank landed an uppercut and some heavy body shots. Smith went down, but the referee ruled it a push.

In the third, Eubank landed 14 power punches as Smith's guard began to fail him.

The gap widened in the next round as Eubank pressed home his advantage. A hook to the chin followed an uppercut and Smith dropped to one knee. He recovered his feet, but was visibly struggling.

There was more of the same in the next round as Smith was backed into the ropes and Eubank continued to land heavy blows.

Smith could hardly impose himself as the fight wore on and Eubank was racking up the points.

In the eighth round, Smith seized on an opening and landed a solid left hook. The pair traded jabs and came together grappling, but Eubank landed a heavy right that left Smith stumbling again.

Early in the tenth, Eubank landed a heavy left that saw Smith spin away bleeding heavily above his eye. Eubank drove forward, landing jabs to the head and body. A left hook to the head sent Smith down and the referee began his count.

Smith managed to stumble to his feet, beating the count, but Eubank simply resumed the punishment he had been dealing out. With Smith backed into the ropes, the referee called the fight and Eubank was victorious.

After the fight, Eubank was euphoric.

He said: "It had to be [revenge], I had no other choice. There are too many other big fights out there for me that the fans want to see me in – and that I want to be involved in.

"Liam is a warrior, I respect him and his whole team, his family – his brothers. He fought until the last second. Big up to Liam and his team. What happened tonight was supposed to happen in January, but it wasn’t my night. I’m coming for you Conor [Benn], I’m coming for you Kell [Brook].”

Eubank had been booed upon entering the arena, but was cheered as he claimed victory.

He said: "I’m not a bad guy. I know I got booed when I came in here, there’s a few cheers now – which I appreciate. I’m turning a few people around.”

Eubank then turned his attention to his next opponent.

He said: "I want to fight GGG. I don’t know where you are, Gennady [Golovkin], but wherever you are, you’ve been holding onto those belts too long. I want to take one.”

Smith, for his part, admitted that he had been well beaten. There were reports after the fight that Smith had injured his ankle in the fourth round, but he didn't use that as an excuse.

He said: "Chris was the better man tonight. I shout when I win, I take my defeat when I lose. 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 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.”

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