Chris Eubank Jr. suffers severely swollen eye following defeat against Liam Smith
He was largely the favourite to win, especially following Smith's controversial remarks before the fight, but was ultimately stopped in the fourth round.
Boxer Chris Eubank Jr. suffered a badly swollen right eye following his defeat to Liam Smith in their middleweight fight this weekend.
The biggest fight of 2023 so far was held in Manchester‘s legendary AO Arena on Saturday, 21 January, with the hype around the much-talked-about match-up only further exacerbated by the ugly scenes that ensued in the press conference beforehand.
Fighter Smith, 34, made the step up from light-middleweight to face the son of British boxing legend, Eubank Sr., who was on an eight-fight winning streak prior to the bout and a year younger than his Liverpudlian opponent.
Lasting just four rounds, Smith ended up dropping Eubank twice, who looked dazed as he got to his feet on both occasions and had to be separated by trainers from each corner as he seemed initially unaware that the fight had been stopped.
The fourth-round stoppage is just the third loss in Eubank Jr.’s 35-fight career, having made his debut back in 2011.
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Despite landing several of his own shots and having been up on the scorecards in the opening three rounds, Smith launched a flurry of punches to knock him down for the first time before following up with a clinical volley of blows to finish him off just moments later.
Speaking to Sky Sports in the aftermath, Eubank said he “was enjoying himself” until Smith caught him with “a once-in-a-lifetime blow”. He went on to insist that he felt he was dominating the fight and could have continued had the referee not made his decision.
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Nevertheless, it was not to be and the Hove-born boxer was left with a rather sizeable swollen eye.
While the victory on the night might have gone his opposite number’s way, Eubank Jr. has received a raft of praise for his handling of the unpleasant situation that transpired in the pre-match presser.
Although he apologised for his own reaction to Smith’s antagonist and what many considered offensive comments, with Sky forced to issue an on-air apology for the “personal and homophobic remarks made on stage”, many have applauded him for standing up for the LGBTQ+ community.
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For those unaware, Smith made several suggestions regarding Eubank’s sexuality, with the latter responding: “I’d rather be gay than a cheat”.
While Eubank Jr.’s eye might have been heavily damaged, his pride was not and, if anything, his popularity has increased in the wake of Smith’s outburst.
Following the fiery face-off, Eubank made it clear that he stood in solidarity with the gay community by donning the rainbow armband in the subsequent weigh-in and went on to write on Twitter: “We don’t discriminate… we don’t alienate. We want boxing & sport as a whole, to be all-inclusive.”
As for Smith, he has since apologised for remarks, insisting that “I’m not homophobic in any way, shape or form, I’m far from it”.
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However, for many, his backtracking has been seen as an empty sentiment made to protect his public image and highlights how much more still needs to be done to combat the culture of homophobia that still prevails throughout modern sports.
🗣️ "I apologise to anyone I've offended."
Liam Smith has apologised for his comments in the build-up to his fight against Chris Eubank Jr. pic.twitter.com/hIm3Gg6nBw
Featured Image — Sky Sports/Michael Benson (via Twitter)
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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
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Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
Danny Jones -
22nd January 2023 
