A massive fight took place over the weekend. After facing one another back in January, Liam Smith squared off against Chris Eubank Jr. for their rematch. In their first clash, Smith got a stoppage victory in the fourth round after dominating, ‘The Next Gen,’ for the entire fight. However, their rematch was quite the contrary to their first fight. Not only was the outcome different but the fight in itself. After dominating, ‘Beefy,’ for nine rounds, the 33-year-old secured a stoppage victory in the tenth and avenged his previous defeat.
Moreover, the bout attracted controversy after Smith claimed that he had an injury during training camp. According to him, the injury jeopardized his preparations and subsequently, the boxer had to lose weight. The 35-year-old had to go through a stringent weight cut. It is reported that he had to cut down 42 lbs to make weight and such a drastic weight cut affected his performance. However, the fans did not buy this claim and tagged it as an “excuse,” for his devastating defeat.
Fans do not buy Liam Smith’s extreme weight cut “excuse” after his devastating defeat against Eubank Jr.
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Smith’s endeavor was to fight for the world championship after defeating Eubank Jr. However, fate had a defeat in store for him. Post the bout, he was evidently upset and to an extent frustrated. In the post-fight press conference, he unveiled the reasons for his disappointing performance but the fans lashed out at him. Here are a few fan reactions:
A fan had anticipated Smith to give such reasons for his defeat and is curious to know why he was heavy before a professional fight.
Here they come.
And why was he 3 stones overweight when he has a PPV rematch? pic.twitter.com/Q8nVX29K4X— Rich Wearz (@wearz) September 3, 2023
Another fan found it ironic how Smith called out Eubank for his excuses after his defeat but is resorting to the same route as him.
Called Eubank for making excuses now he’s doing the same. Was outboxed every second of every round
— Gary Reay (@greay10) September 3, 2023
Meanwhile, on the contrary, one fan has empathy for his hardship and justifies why he was so heavy ahead of the fight.
All the people giving Beefy grief in the replies, he got a back injury and could hardly train so believe it or not, when you can’t exercise due to an injury, the likelihood is that you’re gonna put on a bit of weight. It’s not rocket science to understand
— Jonny (@jonnyescott) September 3, 2023
Along similar lines, one fan acknowledged his reason but blamed it on his team for not postponing the fight for a later date.
I think his team made a mistake , should have pushed it back further if he wasn't in the right shape. Not taking anything away from Chris but a fit and health Beefy is a handful for anyone and don't think we saw the best of him in the rematch.
— Billy Boxer (@longlegsan0n) September 3, 2023
Lastly, one fan acknowledges his injury but thinks Smith could have controlled his weight by eating healthy.
I get he had a back injury and can’t exercise but even still you’d think he’d maybe eat cleaner to try not pile it on.
— Kyle Ashton (@KyleMyles0326) September 3, 2023
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Each fan has their own distinct reason behind their take on this fiasco. However, the majority of the fans find it to be an excuse that has no merit. So we ask you, what do you make of his claim? Do you buy it? Share with us your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
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