Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Williams Are Ready for a Grudge Match
As their fight has barreled closer to fight night, neither middleweights, Chris “NextGen” Eubank Jr (31-2, 23 KO’s) or his next in-ring foe Liam “The Machine” Williams (23-3-1, 18 KO’s), have shied away from their distaste of each other. Eubank Jr in particular seems acutely bothered by Williams’s character and would love to violently eject him from the sport. And, that is exactly what he explained to Sky Sports TV in a recent interview.
“I’m a standup guy, I’m a standard bearer for the sport. I like to think that I am somebody that kids can look up to and say, ‘yeah, that’s who I want to be like’ and their parents want them to be like me too! That’s the image that I hopefully try to bring to the sport.
Someone like Liam Williams is bad. He is a bad representation of what fighters can be; the way he talks, the things he says, the way he holds himself. People like him need to be pushed out of the sport, in my opinion, and that’s what we are going to do on Saturday night.”
Eubank is ranked #1 (WBA), #3 (WBC) and #5 (WBO). The Machine will be his third opponent in the last nine months. Prior to his bout with Marcus Morrison, the first of the last three, Eubank Jr went almost two years without a bout. Obviously he is trying to make up for lost time and remain notably active. Williams, aside from being the most recent challenge, should also stand to be the most challenging of the three.
READY FOR REDEMPTION
For his part, the Machine is coming off a thrilling loss to WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade. Ultimately, Andrade would utilize his more polished skillset to outbox Williams over the twelve rounds. At the same time however, the Machine, who is ranked #6 (WBC), #6 (WBA) and #7 (WBO), displayed commendable grit, his own impressive arsenal, and a chin that is among the best in the business.
So even while he is technically coming off a loss, it was the type of fan-friendly affair that didn’t dull his luster or marketability. In fact, directly based off that last showing, there are going to be quite a few fight fans eager to see what delightful mayhem Williams can bring to Eubank’s door step.
EITHER WAY YOU LOSE
Despite the challenges that Williams will bring, Eubank Jr is more than confident that he will put the hurt on the Machine in more ways than one. Yet, for now we’ll just have to wait and see if Eubank can back up his words or if they were mere illusion all along.
“I have all areas covered. Anywhere the fights goes, he will be out of his depth! Whether it’s a fight, whether it’s a boxing match, its chess, a punch-up, whatever you want to do I am going to be there and I am going to be on him all night until he quits!”
“[…] I don’t see this fight going twelve rounds. My objective is to go out there and punish him until he gets knocked out or until he quits!”
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By:Bakari Simpson
