Liam Smith questioned Chris Eubank Jr’s intelligence as the pair bickered ahead of their rematch this weekend.
The British fighters meet for a second time at Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday, seven months on from Liverpudlian Smith’s fourth-round stoppage victory over his middleweight rival.
Both were in bullish mood as they held a fractious press conference in the city on Thursday, with Eubank predicting he will gain revenge with a ‘beautiful, artistic display of savage boxing’.
Eubank has brought in a new coach in Brian McIntyre and introduced other changes to his training regime in preparation for the contest.
McIntyre has hailed Eubank, 33, as an intelligent fighter, but 35-year-old Smith scoffed at that suggestion when they met with media.
Liam Smith questioned Chris Eubank Jr’s intelligence as they bickered in a press conference
The British fighters are set to go head-to-head again this weekend at AO Arena in Manchester
The former WBO super-welterweight champion said: ‘You class Chris as an intelligent fighter? That is one thing Chris is not!’
‘I’m definitely more intelligent than you, my friend,’ Eubank responded.
Smith, who has a career record of 33-3-1, said: ‘Results speak for themselves!
‘You are trying to convince people you’re intelligent? You’ve been fit, you’ve been durable, you have an engine, but you’ve never been classed as intelligent.’
‘You have one form of fighting, I have many,’ said Eubank. ‘So, if we are going to talk about intelligence there is no competition.’
Eubank, who now has 32 wins and three defeats to his name, is so confident of victory that he says he has banned his camp from even taking a towel to the ring.
Eubank has brought in a new coach in Brian McIntyre (pictured) and introduced other changes
Eubank’s former coach Roy Jones Jr had appeared ready to throw in the towel immediately prior to the referee’s decision to halt the first bout.
‘We are not going to look for the easy way out,’ said Eubank. ‘If it gets rough, if it gets hairy, we are there for the long haul. We are going to get through it.
‘If there is going to be a towel involved in this fight it will definitely be coming from the other corner.
‘What happened in the last fight was not supposed to happen. Even to Liam – he may not admit it – but he was not expecting the fight to finish how it finished. Nobody was.
‘I know I am the better fighter and I am going to go out there and prove it on Saturday.
Smith has promised a repeat of his knockout win in January if Eubank Jr makes same mistakes
‘The preparation I have had has been excellent and the performance I am going to have is going to be exquisite, supernatural. It is going to be a beautiful, artistic display of savage boxing.’
Smith was incredulous at Eubank’s remarks and claimed the outcome would be similar to that of the first fight.
He said: ‘All week it was, “Chris couldn’t be hurt”. I was like, “Never say never”.
‘I told everyone, “Don’t think anyone can’t be hurt because they have got a good chin”. I do still think he has got a good chin, but he got hit, looking at the floor, and he went.
‘The same will happen again. If he makes the same mistakes, I will punish him.’