Chris Eubank Jr v Liam Smith predictions and boxing betting tips

Free boxing tips, best bets and analysis for the pay-per-view fight between Chris Eubank Jr v Liam Smith from the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday night.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Box Office, approx 10.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Chris Eubank Jr to win by stoppage
2pts 3-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

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Big-fight preview

There’s a huge domestic dust-up between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith in Manchester on Saturday night. It’s a clash between two British fighters but it’s a contest at a far higher level than just a domestic showdown.

Smith is a former British, Commonwealth and world light-middleweight champion and Beefy will be hoping to get back into the big time with a victory at the AO Arena. Eubank came up short when challenging George Groves for the WBA super-middleweight title in 2018 and that is one of just two defeats on the Hove hitter’s record.

Eubank was defeated by another world-level performer in Billy Joe Saunders earlier in his career, but has excellent victories over Arthur Abraham, James DeGale and Liam Williams on his card.

Smith has lost three of his 36-career bouts and those came when facing the elite-level Canelo Alvarez, the brilliant and unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov and the also undefeated Jaime Munguía. The Merseyside man has beaten Liverpool rival Anthony Fowler and Jessie Vargas in recent bouts, but those victories were not without concern.

Smith looked vulnerable to power in both of those contests and was caught with quite a few shots, before stopping Vargas in the tenth round. At 34, the Merseyside man’s reflexes may have dimmed a little and while Eubank is just a year younger, he does appear the fresher fighter.

Eubank has been comfortable operating at super-middleweight in his career, but he carries more effective power down at middleweight. Smith makes the step up from light-middle to the 160lbs division and that has to be a concern.

Next Gen appears to have the bulk of the advantages on Saturday night and the 33-year-old has been backed from 1-2 to 4-11 to win this fight. That looks a fair reflection of Eubank’s chances, but the 3-1 on offer about a stoppage victory still looks to hold some value.

Neither of these boxers is a back-foot fighter and it should be an all-action stand-and-trade contest. That is likely to suit Eubank, who is the bigger and physically stronger man.

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