Liam Smith dropped Chris Eubank Jr twice to secure a stunning TKO finish inside four rounds at the Manchester Arena.
The tension between the two was palpable before they had laid hands on one another given the barrage of verbal warfare coming from both sides.
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And once they were inside the ring, the fireworks began.
Eubank Jr. enjoyed a solid start against Smith, who is notoriously slow out of the blocks.
He continued to fire off double jabs early against the Liverpudlian, although Smith was game to every single one of Eubank Jr’s efforts.
Neither man was able to secure a solid advantage in the first two rounds, but in the third, it was Eubank Jr who went on the front foot as he landed 13 punches to Smith’s six.
But once the fourth round began, the contest flipped on its head.
Eubank Jr vs. Smith: Final face off | 01:56
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Smith had backed Eubank Jr into the corner and began teeing off on his rival, but it wasn’t doing much initial damage as Eubank Jr defended well.
However, Smith landed clean with the most thunderous of uppercuts that smacked Eubank Jr flush on the chin and sent his eyes rolling back, with a left hook dropping him to the canvas against the ropes.
Smith initially wheeled away in celebration as the referee began the count, but Eubank Jr got to his feet on incredibly wobbly legs.
Despite Eubank Jr evidently seeing stars, the referee continued the contest.
It was only delaying the inevitable as Smith dropped Eubank Jr once again, giving the referee no choice but to wave off the contest.
In his post-fight interview, Smith was delighted the fight went exactly as he believed it would based on his mid-week predictions.
“I don’t know if it was one shot or an accumulation, but I told you all week,” Smith said.
“A lot got made of Chris’ great chin, I’ve got a great chin, but there’s many fighters with better chins who have been knocked out in the past.
“I told you all week, don’t be surprised, nobody can not be hurt.”
Eubank Jr, who was sporting a brutal welt the size of a golf ball under his right eye, then jumped on the mic to issue a classy response of his own and floated the idea of a rematch.
“Big congratulations to him, he caught me with a great shot,” Eubank Jr said.
“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.”
