Small injury to Smith pushes rematch with Eubank back two weeks
Ben Whittaker added to card following stunning showcase performance in Birmingham
BOXXER today announced updates to the blockbuster SMITH vs EUBANK II: REPEAT OR REVENGE? event headlined by Liam Smith (33-3-1, 20 KO’s) and Chris Eubank Jr (32-3, 23 KO’s), with a new addition to the card confirmed plus a new date for the event at the AO Arena Manchester.
Middleweight sensation Ben ‘The Surgeon’ Whittaker considers ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed one of his greatest inspirations and paid tribute to his idol in style on Saturday night with a stunning blend of skills and showboating which had him trending across UK social media. Whittaker stopped Jordan Grant just 13 seconds into round three on the undercard of Buatsi-Stepien.
The electrifying young talent won a silver medallist at the 2020 Olympics and is widely-tipped by boxing insiders to become a dominant world champion in the professional ranks and a potential all-time great. In July, Manchester fans will have their first chance to witness his magic in person.
The event – headlined by the highly-anticipated rematch between bitter rivals Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr. – also has a new date, moving to Saturday, July 1st.
The date change comes after Smith received medical advice to adjust his training camp for a two-week period in order to allow the healing of a minor injury which had begun flaring up.
With Eubank Jr consenting to the move, the two rivals will now return to the AO Manchester Arena in July, almost five months to the day from the four-round January firefight which took place in front of a sold-out crowd in the same venue – joined by a massive television audience watching on pay-per-view – and ended with Smith winning by stoppage in the first minute of the fourth round.
Determined to avenge the defeat and square the record between them, Eubank Jr activated the contracted rematch clause to set up a summer showdown which has taken their rivalry to new heights and looks set to draw an even larger audience.
Explaining his request, Smith commented, “It’s just an old injury niggle flaring up but I want to take the time to let it heal up so that I can enter the ring at 100% on fight night, because a 100% Liam Smith beats Chris Eubank Jr every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”
The co-headline bout remains in place, with former middleweight world champion Savannah ‘The Silent Assassin’ Marshall (12-1, 10 KO’s) challenging undisputed world super-middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KO’s) for her four belts and undisputed champion status.
Having won a new belt in each of her three fights in 2022 unified world light-middleweight champion Natasha ‘Miss GB’ Jonas (13-2-1, 8 KO’s) will lay them all on the line in Manchester, with her challenger to be announced in the coming days. Jonas – a member of the 2012 Team GB Olympic squad – won the WBO world title in February last year, captured the WBC belt in September and added the IBF belt to her collection in November.
British super-middleweight champion Mark ‘Kid Dynamite’ Heffron (29-2-1, 23 KOs) – a Champs Camp stablemate of Jonas under the tutelage of two-time trainer of the year, Joe Gallagher – will defend the prestigious Lonsdale Belt against Zak Chelli (13-1-1, 6 KOs) in a certain crowd-pleaser. Chelli goes into the title challenge off the back of a stunning, career-best performance against American standout Anthony Sims Jr earlier this year. Having recently been mandated for the British title, the Londoner will now be hoping to cause a mighty upset in the North West when he stands toe-to-toe with Oldham native Heffron.
All tickets purchased for the originally-scheduled date remain valid for the newly-announced July 1st date. Ticket-holders who cannot attend the rescheduled date can obtain a full refund by contacting their ticket provider.
Article sponsored by HÖRFA
