In his new column, former Olympian and heavyweight contender Frazer Clarke looks ahead to a war between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith, reflects on Conor Benn’s future and his own return to the ring this Saturday.
Smith being overlooked amid Eubank Jr’s bravado
I am a big fan of both Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr. But if you strip it all away, the personalities, the bravado, it provides a different perspective on things. Eubank Jr’s personality takes over every fight he is involved in, it becomes the Chris Eubank show. It is part of who he is and what he does.
It can give him the mental edge, knowing he can get under people’s skin. But Liam Smith is very calm, he has got a lot of good, calm boxing heads around him. I don’t think he will be buying into that too much. Eubank Jr’s edge simply has to come in the ring because all the mind games, I don’t think they will get to Smith.
Different opponents can affect people differently but Liam might be getting a bit overlooked here. He is far from quiet himself, but he doesn’t go around saying absurd things. So yes, you can say he is being partly overlooked. We will have to see if Chris’ confidence is just in interviews or whether he takes it into the ring.
If I am talking from a purely boxing perspective, I think Liam Smith has the edge on Saturday night. He has been in some really big fights and I feel he is a more well-rounded fighter.
I think Eubank is great at what he does and I know it will be a very competitive fight but right now, ‘Beefy’ edges it a little bit for me.
Canelo and Golovkin a step too far
Self-confidence goes a long way in boxing and Eubank Jr really does believe in himself, it is a huge thing. If we ask him, there are no peaks to what he can achieve. When we look at Chris, we have to go on his most recent performances and he really did make Liam Williams look average last year. Of course, the Conor Benn fight didn’t happen but with every camp, he makes you believe he is the cream of the crop.
But when you look at the guys at the top of middleweight and super-middleweight in Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, they are huge fights. Canelo is still one of the best pound for pound fighters over the last few years despite what happened against Dmitry Bivol and I don’t think Chris has ever reached those heights.
Every time he has stepped up [against Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves] he has not got over the line. I think the Canelo fight would be a step too far. With Golovkin, he is 40-years-old and seems to be slowing down a bit so it might be the case of getting him now at the right time. But still, he is a ferocious puncher and the last thing that goes it the power. He is still a very dangerous guy.
No world title shots left for the loser
Both Liam and Chris are very proud fighters. For Liam, being a scouser from a boxing city like Liverpool, losing to someone like Chris would be difficult to take. He will have a whole city behind him wanting him to not only beat Chris, but really do a job on him. Chris’ attitude, his way of being just doesn’t go down well in certain places, especially in Liverpool. They are proper fighting people who know the sport.
Maybe he doesn’t mean to, but Chris does come across disrespectful. The way he talks himself up, it is like the fight is already won. Going forward, you have to wonder, will the loser ever get another worlds title shot? It would take some serious rebuilding but you’d have to say, the chance probably wouldn’t come. They would fall down that list.
It is not just world title credentials at stake, it is their own image, the way they want to be looked at, the people you represent. It is a real test of character. But a defeat would be really difficulty to live down. You wouldn’t want to be remembered for that.
Benn fight can still happen but boxing fans won’t forget
This is a delicate talking point. Conor is still pleading his innocence and he has every right to so but you are going to get a mixed response from people over whether they want to see him fight again or whether he should be able to fight again. The fight against Eubank Jr would have been great but I feel like this situation has cast such a dark shadow over it which some people felt wasn’t appropriate anyway because of the catchweight.
It is going to be difficult to pick this back up. Boxing fans have good memories and they are not going to forget that there was a failed drug test. Would I like to see them fight? Absolutely. Everyone who is a fan of the sport and knows the history of the families would like to see that fight.
Should they fight? It would take something extraordinary from Conor Benn to prove his innocence. If he is proved innocent, then it should be forgotten about. How that is done, I’m not sure because I have been around drug testing in this sport for a long time and it is very rare for that to be failed. It would take an extraordinary piece of science or evidence for him to be put back in line to have that fight.
Calling it off was right decision and I’m glad it never went ahead in those circumstances but from a boxing fan’s point of view, absolutely I would love to see it.
British title in my sights in 2023
I don’t like looking too far ahead so I will be concentrating on Saturday first but I think the realistic thing for myself and from the people around me is contending for titles.
To be honest, people have wanted to see that from my debut. It is a strange one because it doesn’t happen very often in boxing. Vasyl Lomachenko was straight in there for a world title in his second fight, but other than that it doesn’t happen often.
We had a steady first year. Of course, you can say some of the opponents were not up to scratch but it was all learning. Now it is time to get good fights under the belt and that includes Kevin Nicolas Espindola on the Eubank vs Smith undercard this weekend.
Yes, he has had some defeats but he has never been stopped and been in against some decent opposition against Solomon Dacres Ivan Dychko who was a great amateur who won Olympic bronze. If I can get the stoppage that will be great but the main thing is to go in there and see the improvements that I have been working on in the gym and then push on to fight for a title.
The British one is the one I would love, that is the route I would love to take by fight no10.
But what I have learned over the last year in boxing is you cannot guarantee tomorrow. It is a difficult sport with drops outs, injuries and the like so I don’t like getting ahead of myself. But in my head that is the plan. Fighting in January gets me off to a good start.
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MORE : ‘Doping would be a slap in the face for my father’ – Chris Eubank Jr responds after Conor Benn’s failed drugs tests
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