Chris Eubank Jr: ‘The ferocity is always there, waiting for the right time to be unleashed’ | Boxing News

It was the night before what would become the biggest win of Chris Eubank Jr.’s career.

He sat on the sofa in his hotel suite, arms folded, knowing better than anyone that this time tomorrow in all likelihood he would be sitting in the dressing room at the Manchester Arena, preparing for battle.

He box Liam Smith lives in Sky Sports Box Office it’s saturday night and now just waiting.

“It’s the twilight hours of the night before the battle. You need to relax, refuel, rehydrate, calm your mind, body and soul to prepare for battle,” he said quietly.

“And that really this fight will be. I think it will be a fight. I think it will be a savage display of boxing. And the fans are in for a hell of a night.”

Although he can wrestle with a ferocious, perhaps brash, style, he will need to maintain an element of calm focus in Saturday’s contest.

“It’s a mixture of both, sometimes you have to be fierce, sometimes you have to move your head, think, move, defend. But the ferocity is always there, waiting for the right moment to release,” he told Sky Sports.

“That’s the type of fighter I am.”

Now that the fighters have made weight, they can regroup and focus only on the real task, the fight.

At a press conference on Thursday, on the last day of the weigh-in, tempers heated up as the public event turned to mockery and derogatory language.

Eubank was the subject of homophobic taunts and Smith was the subject of taunts about social class.

Smith apologized afterward. The British Boxing Board of Control said it would consider the actions of both boxers.

“I think that is mainly on the side. I was reacting to what he said to me and I fight fire with fire, which is what a fighter should do. He wanted to get private,” said Eubank. “I took it there.

“He came out swinging just like I remember,” Eubank said.

“It feels like he has a lot of things built up in his mind that he’s going to say. He’s just waiting for an opportunity to take it all out there and a lot of things go wrong. t?

“People don’t respect me and neither do I and all I can do is apologize to those I may have offended. And if I say something that offends anyone, then I apologize too.”

At Friday’s weigh-in, Eubank Jr. took to the scales wearing a rainbow armband as a signal of support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Eubank Jr later tweeted: “We don’t discriminate… we don’t alienate. We want boxing and the sport as a whole, to be inclusive.”

Both sides made weight there and with the last staredown can turn away from each other. They won’t face each other again now until it’s time to get in the ring.

Eubank Jr. has sensed a shift in the tide of public opinion.

At the weigh-in in Manchester Central, he heard boos for him, cheers for Liam Smith, but he also heard his own name called.

“It’s about 50-50, maybe. A couple of cheers, a sprinkle of boos. My last weigh-in and press conference were all boos. So we’re 50 percent better this time. Work up slowly,” he said with a smile.

“It will be interesting to see the reception at night.”

What will win over the Manchester crowd, however, will be the contest.

“At the end of the day, where you’re from, who you support, none of that matters. Whoever did it, whoever was in the fight that night, they’re valued and respected,” Eubank said.

“So I have to make sure it’s me.”

Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith on Friday 21st January, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now if you are a subscribe to Sky TV or a Non-Sky TV customers.