Conor Benn has dismissed Chris Eubank Jr’s rematch victory over Liam Smith, insisting he was made ‘look good’ by an opponent carrying an injury.
Eubank Jr suffered the first knockout defeat of his career in his first meeting with Smith in January but avenged that loss on Saturday in Manchester.
The 33-year-old turned in the most polished display of his career, dropping the Liverpool fighter twice on his way to a 10th round stoppage victory.
Benn was ringside on the night, with Eubank Jr’s win once again fuelling talk over a battle between the two sons of British boxing royalty after last year’s postponement.
Smith suggested post-fight he was struggling with a huge weight cut heading into the fight having also rolled his ankle in the early rounds.
Assessing Eubank’s win, Benn was less than impressed. ‘Smith made him look good,’ Benn said. ‘What, it takes you ten rounds to dispatch of someone who’s got a broken leg? I’m not really impressed.’
He continued: ‘Eubank, let’s get it on, there’s unfinished business there.
‘You could definitely see that it was an injury, that’s all that was. 100 per cent, you could tell Smith weren’t himself. His shots weren’t coming off, he weren’t able to get out the way of the shots. And that’s all that was.
‘I didn’t think it was an impressive performance. If you’ve got a wounded man in there, take hold of them, get them out of there. If I’ve got someone injured in front of me who can’t throw back, they ain’t seeing the end of the round. That’s it.
‘He looked better than he has done previously, but it weren’t all that. Smith made him look good tonight.
‘I’d get hold of him [Eubank] within four, I’d put it on him straightaway.’
Benn failed two drug tests in the lead-up to October’s proposed showdown with his suspension from boxing lifted in August – although the British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping [UKAD] have appealed that decision.
When asked about Benn’s comments in his post-fight press conference, Eubank Jr said: ‘I don’t know, man. Maybe the juice is still affecting his mental.’
MORE : Chris Eubank Jr beats Liam Smith with 10th-round stoppage in dominant display
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