Chris Eubank Jr & Liam Smith could face sanctions after row

Liam Smith could face action from the British Boxing Board of Control after his shameful behaviour at this week’s pre-fight press conference with opponent Chris Eubank Jr, who could also be in trouble.

The Liverpool fighter, a former WBO world champion at super-welterweight who is stepping up to 160 pounds to take on the  Eubank at Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday, implied that the 33-year-old was gay and harangued him to confirm this.

Smith, who fought most recently last September, will meet Eubank just months after the Conor Benn debacle, which ended with the fight being cancelled and the latter voluntarily relinquishing his British Boxing Board of Control licence after testing positive for a banned substance.

And although the exchange – which also featured the son of former two-weight world champion Chris Eubank insinuating that ‘Beefy’ had been unfaithful to his partner – had been apologised for by broadcaster Sky Sports, the BBBoC looks set to take action that could lead to a charge of misconduct against Smith, although Eubank could be sanctioned too for his part. 

A statement, issued ahead of the weigh-in on Friday where both men scaled 11st 5lbs, read: “The British Boxing Board of Control are aware of the comments made by Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jnr. at yesterday’s press conference.

“The Stewards of The Board will be considering the conduct of both Boxers directly.”

With the fight being exclusively live on pay-per-view platform Sky Sports Box Office, both participants will have it in their interests to hype up the clash in order to increase their cut of the revenue from armchair sales. But Ben Shalom, the founder and CEO of promotional outfit Boxxer, admitted that it was a low point for him and for the promotion.

“If you want to get dark and personal with it, talking about being gay and do I like girls? I’ve been told by multiple sources that you cheat on your wife on occasion,” Eubank responded. “I’d rather be gay than a cheat.”

Smith’s initial comments came as a retort to Eubank accusing Smith of sending direct messages to Eubank’s social media accounts, saying he was more used to getting DMs from women. Smith bit, saying that nobody ever saw Eubank with women. 

“Because you’re 33 and you’ve got no kids.” Smith continued. “Do you want to tell us something? Because nobody in this room has ever seen you with a woman.” 

“Listen, my private life is my private life,” Eubank Jr., who arrived at the weigh-in for his fight against Scouser Smith wearing a Manchester United shirt and a rainbow (Pride) captain’s armband, added. “That’s irrelevant to the boxing, but I’m happy, I’m comfortable.”

The weigh-in went off without a hitch, with Liam Smith – who is 34 and has been professional for 16 years – saying that the back-and-forth between the pair should be taken with “a pinch of salt” because “at the end of the day, it’s just words.”