Liam Smith has responded to Chris Eubank Jr activating a rematch clause in their contract by cheekily reminding his rival of what happened when they last met. Smith sent Eubank Jr to the second defeat of his career in January and became the first boxer to knock Next Gen to the canvas.
After the fight Eubank Jr claimed he got caught with a ‘once in a lifetime shot’ from Smith resulting in the fourth-round stoppage of their middleweight grudge match. There is also claims that Smith used an illegal elbow during the stoppage and Eubank Jr is ready to launch an appeal to the British Boxing Board of Control.
Eubank Jr announced on Tuesday that he has activated the rematch clause in his contract with Smith. Announcing the news on Twitter the fighter posted a picture of himself in a sunny location with the comment: “This morning I activated the rematch clause via my lawyers & sent to my promoters @Wasserman Happy Valentines Day @LiamBeefySmith.”
In a cheeky reply Smith posted a picture of Eubank Jr on the canvas in the fourth round of their fight. He posted the comment: “Happy Valentine’s Day. See you soon.” His message was followed by the ‘blowing a kiss’ emoji and fans commented that their increased rivalry will make the next meeting bigger than this first.
READ MORE: Chris Eubank Jr to take ‘illegal elbow’ appeal further as Liam Smith rematch looms
Despite his initial thoughts that one powerful punched knocked him to the canvas Eubank Jr now believes it was in fact an illegal elbow. However, Smith’s promoter Ben Shalom says he is baffled by the claims.
He told Sky Sports: “To be honest I think it’s ridiculous. I think this is more coming from his team. I think they are looking for excuses as to why it happened. Liam Smith’s combination, when you watch it back, was enough to knock anyone out.
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“To use the elbow excuse, I think everyone can perhaps see through that. I hear that they’re going to be taking it further with the British Boxing Board. From what I’m hearing I think they will make an appeal. And then it will be up to the Board. I can’t see it succeeding.”
Eubank Jr’s decision to activate the rematch clause in their contract came as a surprise to some fans after his coach Roy Jones Jr teased that Next Gen might move up a weight division for his next fight. However, the temptation of a revenge match against Smith looks to have been too much for Eubank Jr to resist.