It seemed that fan-favourite Liam Smith’s time in the ring was coming to an end after his most recent performance against Chris Eubank Jr.
Aged 35-years-old with plenty of memorable nights to his name, you wouldn’t begrudge the Liverpudlian fighter. Nevertheless his brother, Stephen Smith, has indicated that ‘Beefy’ is not ready to hang up the gloves just yet, adding that he may well be on the verge of a return to the ring and that he has plenty of options.
Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr. – an unsettled score
The former WBO super-welterweight champion found himself engulfed in a fierce rivalry with the provocative Chris Eubank Jr. last year. After agreeing to a deal to face his fellow Brit in the middleweight division concerns surrounding Smith’s punch power, or lack of, rendered him an underdog for the contest.
Regardless of his doubters, in a shock twist, Smith surprisingly played the role of aggressor and scored an emphatic fourth-round knockout over his cocky rival.
Seven months on, Smith squared up for the rematch with Eubank, after the latter activated a rematch clause. Although, it was clear to see that something was not right with Smith from the opening bell, especially considering that the bout had been previously postponed due to a back injury.
Eubank went on to avenge his defeat with his own stoppage of Smith, and in the aftermath it was revealed that the Liverpudlian had cut 42lbs for the fight and twisted both ankles during the contest.
Age not to blame for poor performance in rematch
Since that night, both suggestions and rumours emerged that Liam Smith would call time on his career, after a sharp decline in ability to the naked eye. Although, whilst acknowledging that he is in the final chapter of his career, Smith told Sky Sports that his performance in the Eubank rematch was down to difficulties during camp rather than Father Time catching up with him.
As a result, Smith is hopeful of the opportunity to prove that he is still the same fighter that he was in the first encounter with Eubank, demanding a trilogy with his domestic foe to settle the scores. Although, there is admittedly little to gain for Eubank in such a contest, who has this year been linked to showdowns against pound-for-pound number one Terence Crawford and unified middleweight champion, Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Who could Liam Smith face other than Chris Eubank Jr.?
Still, there remains alternative options for Smith to prove that has still got what it takes to compete at the peak of the 160lb division and his brother, Stephen, explained to iFL TV that Liam is not short of offers, assuming they are all genuine.
“His first and foremost ambition was to get himself back out there again after his back injury. He went into that last fight [with Eubank Jr.] and he should never have been in that ring after the injury that he had. So he has got to go and put himself right, but he is back in the gym now and he is hopefully injury-free. If he can get himself 100% again then he is a problem for anyone.”
“He’s always got a lot of options on the table, he had a lot of offers coming in whilst he was injured. Whether they were legit and being offered to him because they thought that he was injured or whether they were legit offers, we will find out soon. He’s now in the gym and he is now looking for what is next, so we will see.”
In addition to the Eubank trilogy, Smith has also spoke of world title bids against either Israil Madrimov [WBA super-welterweight] or a possible challenge against Alimkhanuly [WBO & IBF middleweight] himself, where a win would see Smith become a two-division champion. But first, fans and fighters alike may want to take a look at Smith against lesser opposition before he is thrust back into the deep end.