Liam Smith said any rematch with Chris Eubank Jr will be "on my terms" after the former world champion produced a devastating fourth-round stoppage victory in Manchester on Saturday night.
Eubank Jr, the son of British boxing great Chris Eubank, was the pre-fight favourite for this middleweight bout at the Manchester Arena, and he looked to be gaining early control after dominating the third round. But Smith came flying out for the fourth and after a flurry of punches, had Eubank down on the canvas.
Eubank quickly rose to his feet but was visibly unsteady, and after referee Victor Loughlin allowed the fight to continue, Smith moved in to finish the contest and deliver his opponent his first stoppage defeat.
"This is the best atmosphere I have ever felt," said Smith, who was cheered on by the majority of the 18,000 capacity crowd. "I said all week that Chris was kidding people about his chin. I knew I could hurt him, I knew I was the bigger puncher and that’s a fact."
A rematch clause was inserted in the contracts for this fight, opening up the possibility for Eubank Jr to attempt to seek revenge, but Smith insisted he will dictate the terms of a second bout.
"If Chris wants the rematch we can do that on my terms," said Smith, who took his professional record to 33 wins, three defats and one no contest, having held the WBO world title at super-welterweight.
“I agreed to the rematch clause beforehand so we can see. I can beat all the best fights at 160lbs and 154lbs.”
For Eubank, the defeat compounds a challenging few months after his highly-anticipated bout with Conor Benn - the son of Eubank Sr's fierce rival Nigel - was cancelled the week of the fight after it was revealed Benn had failed a doping test.
"Big congratulations to him. He caught me with a great shot," said Eubank Jr, who has now lost three of his 35 professional fights.
"The build-up was the build-up, it got a bit ugly at the end. I regretted that. I respect you, I respect your family, I always have.
"If the fans want to see a rematch, we can get it on at Anfield. Big respect, man."
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
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- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
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The specs
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- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
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Available: Now
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Gothia Cup 2025
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
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Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
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Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
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She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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