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Boxing

George Groves predicts winner of Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Liam Smith and thinks fighter may retire

George Groves predicts winner of Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Liam Smith and thinks fighter may retireDAZN

George Groves believes that Chris Eubank Jr will beat Liam Smith this weekend.

The experienced British duo meet at middleweight on Saturday in a fight shown live on DAZN (US, Canada, DACH and Japan only).

Eubank has often fought above middleweight and many see a potential size advantage whe he takes on Smith in Manchester.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Groves said: “I've got a Eubank win. If he loses it's his own fault. That sounds like you're taking something away from Liam Smith. But the truth is Liam Smith is a good, solid, well-rounded pro. 

“He was an elite amateur, he won an ABA title, he's from a boxing family. He's been a professional now for 12-plus years and he lives the life, he's working hard, he's been in big fights, he's a former world champion but he's giving away a lot of size against Eubank.

“Eubank's fought as high as super-middleweight. I think he looks really tight at middleweight. I can imagine middleweight's a bit of a slog.

“Eubank's lost to me, he lost a split against Billy Joe Saunders but it could have gone either way. So he's not in the company of losing, he's not in the mindset of losing.

“If he punches with spite and volume, he might even stop Liam Smith, who has been stopped before by Canelo Alvarez who is obviously a pound-for-pound fighter. But he can be hurt, he can be hurt to the body. If Eubank targets the body I think he might stop him.”

However, Groves believes Eubank’s career could come to an end should he lose this Saturday.

He added: “I think it would be extremely tough to come back from. Never write anyone off in that regard. I don't know what Eubank's intentions are after this. I'd love to see him chase a world title fight after this, a middleweight world title fight.

“It'll be tough to come back from. But if he still feels young and fresh enough, then he could do. It might not be the be-all and end-all where he'd walk away from the game. But it'll be pretty tough.”

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