‘I was p***** off’ – Chris Eubank Jr opens up on how he felt after losing to Liam Smith in first fight
Chris Eubank Jr has roared he was 'p***** off' following his defeat to Liam Smith in January as he admitted he got too 'complacent'.
The Liverpudlian became the first man to knock out Eubank Jr - stopping the 33-year-old in the fourth round of their fight.
This marked the third defeat of Eubank Jr's career and when asked by how it felt this time in comparison to previous occasions, the Brit replied: "It wasn't like I got battered for four rounds and then was knocked out.
"I was winning the fight, I made a mistake and I paid the price.
"When I got out of that ring, it wasn't depression or upset, it was annoyance, I was p***** off, thinking 'how could I let this happen, I know I can beat this guy'.
"So, it was a different type of sting, but that's boxing, you've got to take your licks and have the ability to come back stronger, tougher, more resilient, improved and you've got to learn from your mistakes."
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Eubank Jr was then questioned as to how he did let it happen, to which he admitted that complacency may have been a factor.
"I think I got complacent," Eubank Jr added. "I was very comfortable in that ring, probably more-so than I usually am in fights in general, I was very comfortable, I was very relaxed.
"He wasn't catching me with shots, in the third round I caught him with some great combinations and I was just fully in control and I went back to the corner in the third and I was thinking 'this is in the bag, I've got this'.
"You have to have confidence, but as a veteran you can gauge your ability, especially after being in the ring for a few rounds with another man and you know whether it's going to be a hard night or whether you've got it.
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"And I believed after that third round, 'I've got this, this is where I'm gonna start taking off'.
"I'm not going to call it a false sense of security, but that relaxed attitude, thinking there was no danger in front of me, caused me to let my guard down for a split second, literally, and my opponent capitalised on that split second mistake."
But, on Saturday night, Eubank Jr will have the chance to avenge this defeat when he meets Smith once again in a rematch.
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