Chris Eubank Jr claims he could have continued in his first fight with Liam Smith; Savannah Marshall meets another old amateur rival in Franchon Crews-Dezurn when they fight for the undisputed super-middleweight title on the Manchester bill; Watch live on Sky Sports Box Office on June 17
Wednesday 26 April 2023 06:13, UK
Chris Eubank Jr has extraordinarily claimed he should have been allowed to continue his first fight against Liam Smith in January rather than being stopped in the fourth round.
Smith and Eubank Jr went head-to-head for the first time at a press conference on Tuesday to announce their Saturday, June 17 rematch.
After Smith halted Eubank in a ferocious bout in January, they will box again at the Manchester Arena in June, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Extraordinarily, Eubank Jr claimed he should have been allowed to continue in his first fight with Smith.
"The thing I regret is not being given the chance to get through it," Eubank Jr declared.
"I wanted to continue. I wanted to see if I could overcome that adversity and I feel like I was robbed of that challenge. This is what we sign up for. We sign up to get hurt. We sign up for the possibility of receiving punishment.
"If a beating was what I was going to take if the fight had been left to go longer, then great, that's what I deserve. I would have accepted that. I would have enjoyed that."
He added: "In my opinion, he didn't stop me, the referee stopped me. In a sense we both got robbed there.
"I'm a grizzled veteran in the sport, I know how much I can take, I know when I can't go on. I was buzzed but I knew what was going on."
It's an assertion Smith dismissed entirely. "Any other fighter gets stopped after that first knockdown," said Smith, who put Eubank Jr down twice before the finish.
"It all happened to him on one night, everything he thought couldn't happen to him, everything Chris prides himself on not happening, happened to him on one night.
"And I done it to him.
"I knew I was a better fighter than Chris," Smith continued. "Now I know I can hurt him and hurt him quite handily at 160lbs. Now I'm massively confident.
"To save face he had to take this rematch if he wants to go any further in his career.
"He's got a lot of demons to overcome."
Franchon Crews-Dezurn puts her undisputed super-middleweight title on the line when she fights Savannah Marshall on the Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr undercard in Manchester on June 17.
They went head-to-head at a press conference in London on Tuesday too.
The USA's Crews-Dezurn lambasted Marshall for being "dog-walked" in her last fight with Claressa Shields and still receiving an immediate shot at the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO world titles in the division above.
"I never had that luxury," Crews-Dezurn warned Shields. "When you lose you get babysat.
"You ain't got nothing, I got it all. And I'm going to keep it."
Marshall is adamant that fighting at super-middleweight will suit her. She is promising an even better performance.
"There's no weight cutting, no being drained for fights so I think this weight will suit me a lot better," the Briton said.
"I believe I'm at world level and if I can't mix it with the likes of Franchon what good am I in boxing?
"How can I go back down to eight rounds when fans have supported me all over the country?"
The two did box as amateurs and the Briton won. The American wants her revenge, while Marshall isn't setting too much store in that result.
"Our styles have changed to suit the pros. I'm no mug, I'm not overlooking her," Marshall said. "It's going to be a hard night's work.
"She's a tough, rugged, very experienced fighter but I believe I beat her."
Crews-Dezurn declared: "She gave a valiant fight in October [against Shields] but it might not be the same, it's going to be a little worse this time.
"We're here right now and I'm telling you June 17 is going to be fun for me," she continued. "There are some things in boxing you can't teach.
"I have the opportunity to redeem myself and she has the opportunity to prove herself at world level.
"I'm always going to bet on myself and I'm not going to lose."
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