Friday, September 1, 2023

Boxing Challenge

   The boxing challenge to start September is all about one fight.

And literally, one fight as the only fight will be from the UK as Liam Smith will attempt to repeat his knockout win over Chris Eubank Jr last January.

The Boxxer card on ESPN+ Saturday afternoon doesn't have any other fights rated for the challenge, so it is a lonely event for this weekend and the only fight for this week and the following.

The first Smith-Eubank fight was thought to be a close fight with most giving the naturally larger Eubank a small edge but it wasn't considered to be a big upset that Smith won, although few expected him to score a knockout and even fewer thought that Smith would score an early-round stoppage.

Now, Smith is the favored fighter after his win, and Eubank does have some support from people who think Smith just caught him right and that Eubank will re-establish himself in the rematch.

There is reason to believe that could be the case as Eubank had shown a dependable chin before the Smith fight and perhaps it was that Smith just caught Eubank and he couldn't get things back together.

The standard rule in boxing is that in rematches, more often than not, the fighter that won the first fight wins the second even faster.

I'm not sure I buy that in this case but I still lean toward Liam Smith repeating his win.

Super Middleweights. 12 Rds 
Liam Smith vs. Chris Eubank Jr
Ramon Malpica: Smith Split Decision
TRS: Smith Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano: Smith KO 6  

No comments: