LIAM SMITH and Chris Eubank Jr’s rematch has been cancelled.
The 34-year-old Liverpool ace stunned the 33-year-old middleweight in January with a brutal fourth-round knockout.
A June rerun was announced in April but then pushed back to July 1.
And now – with the details of Smith’s injury remaining a mystery – the bout has been scrapped.
Former super-welterweight world champ Smith said: “I’m gutted and sorry to all the fans about the postponement.
“I’ve always said a fully fit Liam Smith beats Chris Eubank Jr every time.
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“I tried training through because I was desperate not to let anyone down but I’ve had to withdraw from the bout in July following the latest medical assessment this week.
“I’ll heal up now and then be fully fit for later in the summer.”
SunSport put speculation about the doomed bout to Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom on Monday, only for him to rebuff the rumours.
Savannah Marshall’s undisputed super-middleweight world title fight against Franchon Crews-Dezurn will now headline the event at the 20,000-seater AO Arena in Manchester.
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And Shalom insists it will still be a success, as he announce he will give away free drinks to make up for the absence of Eubank vs Smith.
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He said on Wednesday: “Savannah Marshall headlining the UK’s two biggest arenas in back-to-back fights is a first for a female fighter and shows the strength of the women’s sport today.
“She’s fighting for the undisputed world super-middleweight championship against the USA’s Franchon Crews-Dezurn – a fight which could headline any arena in the world.
“Manchester’s own Mark Heffron defending his British title against Zak Chelli, Natasha Jonas laying her own world titles on the line, plus a once-in-a-generation talent like Ben Whittaker and the outstanding Callum Simpson takes on Boris Crighton – this is a card stacked with great fights and we are very excited for it.
“We understand a lot of fans will be disappointed to hear the Smith-Eubank rematch is being postponed, so we’ve arranged a free voucher for every fan in the venue to have a drink on us on fight night, plus they will receive priority access to Smith vs Eubank II tickets for the new date when it’s announced, and a discount on those tickets.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
