Chris Eubank Jr banishes demons by stopping Liam Smith to cap off slick showing
Chris Eubank Jr gained revenge against Liam Smith on Saturday, stopping his rival as the Britons returned to the scene of their first clash. Smith dropped Eubank Jr twice at Manchester’s AO Arena in January before the referee waved off the middleweight bout, but the boxers’ roles were reversed on Saturday. In the same building, it was Eubank Jr who dropped Smith twice before securing a TKO in the 10th round. Eubank Jr, 33, looked the slicker fighter all night, switching targets between the head and body while picking his shots wisely. Meanwhile, 35-year-old Smith looked languid and was watching rounds slip away from the first bell. The first knockdown came in the fourth round – the frame in which their first fight ended – as Smith was dropped to a knee and smartly spat out his mouthguard to buy time. In fact, he bought more than he might have imagined, briefly quelling Eubank Jr’s momentum. When the action resumed, Eubank Jr sought a finish but – as it eluded him – he elected patience as the bout wore on. In the 10th round, however, he put down Smith again with a left hook after a fast start to the round. Smith let out a deep breath as he rose to beat the referee’s count, with blood trickling from a cut above his right eye. The Liverpudlian was only delaying the inevitable, however, as Eubank Jr backed him up to the ropes and unloaded shots, overwhelming Smith. Eventually, referee Kevin Parker stepped in to wave off the fight, sealing Eubank Jr’s redemption. “It had to be [revenge], I had no other choice,” Eubank Jr said in the ring, after shaking hands with Smith, who applauded the Brighton-born fighter. “There are too many other big fights out there for me that the fans wanna see me in – and that I wanna be involved in. “Liam is a warrior, I respect him and his whole team, his family – his brothers. He fought until the last second. Big up to Liam and his team. “What happened tonight was supposed to happen in January, but it wasn’t my night. “I’m not a bad guy. I know I got booed when I came in here, there’s a few cheers now – which I appreciate. I’m turning a few people around.” Eubank Jr also called out the retired Kell Brook, who was sat at ringside, and Conor Benn, whom he was due to box last October before Benn’s failed drug tests were revealed. Eubank Jr also named Gennady Golovkin as a desired opponent. Meanwhile, Smith suggested that he had rolled his ankle early in the fight, which marked Eubank Jr’s first outing under Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, who also coaches Terence Crawford. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Finally, Ricky Hatton has his happy ending Errol Spence Jr triggers Terence Crawford rematch clause in bid for redemption The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings Eubank vs Smith LIVE: Results from rematch after late TKO Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith in heated debate over decisive factor in rematch Eddie Nketiah wins England call-up – Thursday’s sporting social
2023-09-03 07:55
Taulia Tagovailoa accounts for 4 first-half touchdowns in Maryland's 38-6 win over Towson
Taulia Tagovailoa threw for three touchdowns and ran for one in the first half of Maryland’s 38-6 rout of Towson
2023-09-03 07:51
Michael Penix Jr. throw for 5 TDs as No. 10 Washington overwhelms Boise State 56-19
Michael Penix Jr. threw for 450 yards and matched his career-high with five touchdown passes, and No. 10 Washington overwhelmed Boise State in a 56-19 win in the teams' season opener
2023-09-03 07:51
No. 19 Wisconsin beats Buffalo 38-17 to open coach Luke Fickell's first season with Badgers
Chez Mellusi ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, Braelon Allen added 141 yards and two more scores and No. 19 Wisconsin started the first season of Luke Fickell’s coaching tenure with a 38-17 victory over Buffalo on Saturday
2023-09-03 07:48
Garrett Shrader passes for four touchdowns in Syracuse's 65-0 rout of Colgate in season opener.
Garrett Shrader passed for four touchdowns to four different receivers, LeQuint Allen ran for 107 yards and a score, Syracuse scored on five consecutive possessions in the first half and the Orange went on to defeat Colgate 65-0 in the season opener for both teams
2023-09-03 07:47
Eubank vs Smith LIVE: Results from rematch after late TKO
Chris Eubank Jr gained revenge against Liam Smith on Saturday, stopping his rival as the Britons returned to the scene of their first clash. Smith dropped Eubank Jr twice at Manchester’s AO Arena in January before the referee waved off the middleweight bout, but the boxers’ roles were reversed on Saturday. In the same building, it was Eubank Jr who dropped Smith twice before securing a TKO in the 10th round. Eubank Jr, 33, looked the slicker fighter all night, switching targets between the head and body while picking his shots wisely. Meanwhile, 35-year-old Smith looked languid and was watching rounds slip away from the first bell. The first knockdown came in the fourth round – the frame in which their first fight ended – as Smith was dropped to a knee and smartly spat out his mouthguard to buy time. In fact, he bought more than he might have imagined, briefly quelling Eubank Jr’s momentum. When the action resumed, Eubank Jr sought a finish but – as it eluded him – he elected patience as the bout wore on. In the 10th round, however, he put down Smith again with a left hook after a fast start to the round. Smith let out a deep breath as he rose to beat the referee’s count, with blood trickling from a cut above his right eye. The Liverpudlian was only delaying the inevitable, however, as Eubank Jr backed him up to the ropes and unloaded shots, overwhelming Smith. Eventually, referee Kevin Parker stepped in to wave off the fight, sealing Eubank Jr’s redemption. Re-live updates and see all results below. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Read More Chris Eubank Jr banishes demons by stopping Liam Smith to cap off slick showing Errol Spence Jr triggers Terence Crawford rematch clause in bid for redemption The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings
2023-09-03 07:45
Pitt QB Phil Jurkovec throws for a TD and runs for another as Panthers breeze by Wofford 45-7
Phil Jurkovec threw for a touchdown and ran for another in his return to his hometown and Pittsburgh breezed past Wofford 45-0 in their season opener
2023-09-03 07:29
Hartman throws for 194 yards and 2 TDs and No. 13 Irish defense stout again in 56-3 win over Tigers
Sam Hartman passed for 194 yards and two touchdowns and Notre Dame’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown for a second straight game as the No. 13 Irish beat Tennessee State 56-3
2023-09-03 07:28
No. 3 Buckeyes overcome sluggish showing to extend winning streak over Hoosiers, 23-3
Miyan Williams rushed for two touchdowns and No. 3 Ohio State beat Indiana 23-3 for its 23rd consecutive season-opening victory
2023-09-03 07:21
Cueto wins in his return as Burger hits 2 of the Marlins' 4 home runs in win over the Nationals
The Miami Marlins hit four home runs to beat the last-place Washington Nationals 11-5
2023-09-03 07:20
Rooker's home run lifts Athletics to 2-1 win over Angels 2-1
Brent Rooker hit his team-leading 23rd home run, Paul Blackburn pitched five innings for his second victory in six starts, and the last-place Oakland Athletics beat Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 to win back-to-back games for the sixth time since the All-Star break
2023-09-03 07:16
Seth Rollins thoughts on a CM Punk WWE return resurface after AEW firing
Top wrestling star CM Punk, real name Phil Brooks has been fired by All Elite Wrestling following a fight with fellow wrestler Jack Perry at the All In show at Wembley Stadium last Sunday. The 44-year-old returned to AEW earlier this year after overcoming an injury but it came under a cloud of controversy following his comments and a subsequent fight 12 months ago with The Elite at All Out 2022. Punk, as the top star in the company, was given his own show 'Collision' upon his return and began a storyline where he was declaring himself the 'Real World Champion.' However, things reportedly turned sour upon Punk's return with reports of several disagreements breaking out between him and other wrestlers including Jack Perry, who made a thinly veiled comment about Punk at Wembley on Sunday which sparked an incident backstage between the pair. Now in a statement released by AEW, the company has confirmed that his contract has been terminated: "All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has terminated the wrestler and employment agreements between Philip Brooks (CM Punk) and AEW with cause, effective immediately. The termination was confirmed today by Tony Khan, CEO, General Manager and Head of Creative of AEW. "The termination follows a weeklong internal investigation of an incident occurring backstage at AEW – All In London on Sunday, August 27. Following the investigation, the AEW Discipline Committee met and later convented with outside legal counsel before making a unanimous recommendation to Khan that CM Punk be terminated with cause." In addition, AEW's co-founder and owner Tony Khan said: "Phil played an important role within AEW and I thank him for his contributions. The termination of his AEW contracts with cause is ultimately my decision, and mine alone. Of course, I wish I didn’t have to share this news, which may come as a disappointment to many of our fans. Nevertheless, I am making the decision in the best interests of the many amazing people who make AEW possible every week – our talent, staff, venue operators and many others whose efforts are unsung but essential to bringing our fans great shows on television and at arenas and stadiums throughout the world." Talk has immediately sparked debate as to what Punk will do next with many speculating that he could return to WWE, a company he walked out on in 2014. Earlier this year, the current World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins was asked for his thoughts on Punk returning to his former employer. Speaking to journalist Nick Hausman, Rollins said: "Philly Phil, stay away. Stay away, you cancer, get away from me forever. I don't like Phil. I don't like Phil, he's a jerk. Did we just figure that out? Everybody in the room is like, ‘did he say that?' Yeah, he's a jerk. Come on. We figured it out over there, we knew it over here. I don't want him back. Go do something else. Bye bye. See you later.” Punk's last match for AEW was to open the start of the record-breaking All In show at Wembley where he successfully defended the 'Real World Championship' against Samoa Joe. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-09-03 06:57
