Liam Smith's promoter Ben Shalom reveals they have sent potential rematch date to Chris Eubank Jr's team but are waiting on confirmation; Smith is pressing Eubank to meet deadline to make the fight; It's a fight that Eubank needs, says Shalom: "This time he has to win"
Friday 10 March 2023 19:04, UK
Liam Smith has declared that he won’t wait much longer for Chris Eubank Jr to agree to the final terms for their rematch.
Liverpool's Smith wants that fight signed, sealed and delivered, or will he look to explore his other options.
Smith spectacularly knocked out Eubank Jr inside four rounds of their clash in January at the Manchester Arena.
Last month Eubank triggered the rematch clause in his contract, but Smith has reminded him that the deadline to finalise the venue, date and other conditions is coming up.
Big fights in boxing can be hard to make, but promoter Ben Shalom is confident the rematch remains firmly on course.
"I think Liam just wants to get on with it now and announce the fight. Obviously Chris activated his rematch, we've sent the date that we're thinking about to [his promoter] Wasserman already. We're waiting on them to speak to Chris. We think that date's going to be okay for all parties," Shalom told Sky Sports.
Smith has established himself as world class middleweight. The WBO, for instance, have already made him the mandatory challenger for their champion Janibek Alimkhanuly.
"Liam just wants to get on with it [the Eubank rematch]. He's got other fights that he'd like to take at some point and I think he just wants to get this one out the way," Shalom said.
"I think he's been waiting for us to announce a date and agree terms. So he's probably wondering why it's not been announced yet. Fingers crossed that gives the pressure that we need to agree a date."
Even though Smith's victory in the first fight was conclusive, the stakes in a rematch will be high, especially for Eubank Jr.
"It's such a big fight for Eubank Jr. If he loses that really is tough. But if he wins there are some huge fights for him again and he's going to make a huge amount of money and I think that's why he's so keen to have the rematch. Because the rewards are just so great," Shalom said.
"The same people who said it was absolutely impossible for Liam Smith to knock Eubank Jr out are now saying it's absolutely impossible for Eubank to beat Liam Smith and it's a formality. Nothing's a formality in boxing.
"We've never seen Eubank Jr get knocked out before. We saw it for the first time ever in his career," he continued.
"There could be many reasons for that. We don't know. I think it's still an exciting fight and it's one that this time Eubank Jr has to win and that's what I think makes it exciting.
"Perhaps that from the outside it looks like Eubank is laidback sometimes and maybe doesn't look to be taking it as seriously as other fighters. Maybe this was the wake up call he actually needed to realise he's not invincible, he can be hurt.
"I think he was as shocked as anyone. I think it makes for a great fight. There's so much on the line. Liam will want to show that he's levels above again."
