Chris Eubank Jr's promoter says the Liam Smith rematch "is a fight that will happen. The question is when"; Kalle Sauerland notes they are "still considering the situation regarding use of the elbows" and will take their full time to reach final decision whether to exercise rematch clause
Saturday 4 February 2023 14:49, UK
Chris Eubank Jr does have a rematch clause to force a second fight with Liam Smith.
But his team will use their full allotment of time to decide on the Brighton star's next move.
A rematch with Smith is expected to take place eventually, but it will not necessarily be Eubank's next fight, promoter Kalle Sauerland tells Sky Sports.
"I've told Ben [Shalom, Smith's promoter] we will be using the full time to consider our options," Sauerland of Wasserman Boxing said.
"We haven't had much communication on it and we certainly haven't given any indication that we're going to be exercising the rematch clause. Is it an interesting option? Absolutely. But is it the best option? We've got a few more weeks to think.
"He's having much deserved downtime with the family at the moment. If you look at it in the grand scheme of things it [the final decision] is going to be quite soon - but just a few more weeks."
The immediate rematch is one of Eubank's options, but not his only option.
Sauerland continued: "Rushed decisions in boxing are the worst decisions. It's all about when it makes sense. Ultimately it has to be the right move for Junior. He's also at a pivotal stage of his career. Yes it's a setback, it's a massive setback when you lose a big fight. But is it a setback that he can come back from? Absolutely. That's what's exciting about boxing."
A claim that an elbow allegedly landed on Eubank during the fight has been under discussion.
"We are still considering the situation regarding use of the elbows," Sauerland said.
"That's not sour grapes because really you appeal for a rematch. We don't need to appeal for a rematch. We have a rematch if we want to use a rematch clause if that's the best option for Junior, which we are still assessing.
"However to the critics you need to go to Specsavers if you can't see elbows in the combination," he continued.
"That's not a criticism of Liam Smith. It was in a flurry of punches. To miss and catch someone with an elbow, which is what happened, that's as clear as day and night and I challenge anyone to show me that an elbow didn't land.
"But that's not to take anything away from Liam. It was a great victory for him and it was his night. That's nothing to do with trying to have sour grapes here. It's just that we represent Chris Eubank Jr. The fact that an elbow landed, I don't think anyone can question."
The rematch does remain high on the agenda, the issue will be the timing of it.
"It would be different it had been a one-sided beat down. It wasn't. Chris was up a round on my card," Sauerland said.
"He just came off a very good third round. The first round he probably just edged. The second round was Liam, the third round was Chris', a very clear round and then he caught one. It happens. That's boxing. Can he do it again? I'd like to see that. A lot of people would like to see that.
"The rematch is a fight that will happen. The question is when it will happen. There are several options open to Junior. It will absolutely happen in time. I'm sure Liam wants the rematch to show that it wasn't just a lucky punch. Or a lucky elbow, nudge, nudge, wink, wink!"
