- Chris Eubank Jr. has opened as the -300 betting favorite against Liam Smith (+200).
- Eubank Jr. and Smith are booked to fight on January 21, 2023, at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
- Eubank Jr. defeated Liam Williams in his most recent bout while Smith decisioned Hassan Mwakinyo in his last outing.
Sportsbooks are picking Chris Eubank Jr. over Liam Smith in their upcoming bout.
According to the top boxing betting sites, Eubank is the -300 favorite to win the fight while Smith is the +240 betting underdog.
Eubank and Smith have been booked to fight on January 21, 2023, at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. The fight could end up as a title eliminator, as per WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, with the winner getting a crack at the WBC middleweight title currently held by Jermall Charlo.
Chris Eubank Jr. Says He Doesn’t Need 60% to Beat Liam Smith
Chris Eubank Jr will face Liam Smith in all-British clash on January 21 | @_DanMatthews_ https://t.co/GTRf2XyScK
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) November 25, 2022
Eubank acknowledged that Smith has been in the ring with good fighters. However, he says that Smith is not on his level and although he’s a competent fighter, class beats confidence. Eubank added that he does not even need to be at 60% to beat Smith, the percentage at which he said he would beat rival Conor Benn in an aborted bout.
The son and namesake of the British boxing legend heads to this bout after his October bout with Benn was called off after the latter failed a drug test in the lead-off to the bout. Eubank Jr. last fought last February in Wales where he scored a 12-round unanimous decision win over former British & Commonwealth middleweight champion Liam Williams.
Eubank Jr. won the IBO middleweight title in 2017. He went on to successfully defend the belt twice before losing to George Groves in the 2017 World Boxing Super Series middleweight tournament semi-final. Since that setback, he has won five consecutive bouts, including three via stoppage.
The 33-year-old has never seen the plus money sign written next to his name since he was listed at +120 odds when he fought Billie Joe Saunders in 2014. Eubank ended up suffering his first career loss in that bout. He was also the -175 betting favorite when Groves defeated him via unanimous decision.
Liam Smith Massively Confident of Beating Eubank Jr.
Liam Smith: I'm Massively Confident That I Can Beat Chris Eubank Jr. https://t.co/0I2BTYfnRO pic.twitter.com/ajh1aVDGte
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) November 25, 2022
After winning his first bout under BOXXER last September, Liam Smith immediately asked for Eubank Jr. as he looks to become a world champion once again. However, he will have to move up in weight to do so.
Smith says that he is massively confident of beating Chris Eubank Jr. According to the former WBO light middleweight champion, Eubank Jr.’s game has “loads of vulnerabilities” that he can capitalize on. Smith thinks that Eubank Jr. will try to box him but will end up reverting to fighting him instead. Per Smith, he’s going to welcome it with open arms.
The 34-year-old is coming off a 4th-round TKO win over Hassan Mwakinyo last September 3 in Liverpool. That bout came five months after Smith knocked out Jesse Vargas to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental light-middleweight title. Overall, he is 9-2 since losing his world title to Canelo Alvarez via 9th-round KO in 2016, with his defeats coming at the hands of Jaime Munguia and Magomed Kurbanov, both on points.
This marks only the third time in his professional boxing career that Smith has opened as the betting underdog. He opened at +600 against Canelo and was a +420 versus Munguia. He lost both bouts. Smith has not closed at odds longer than +200 in his last three bouts.
