Chris Eubank Jr.’s trainer believes Liam Smith will give him little trouble, and the long term plan remains fighting Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez or Gennadiy Golovkin.
Eubank Jr. and Smith fight on January 21 (live on DAZN in US, Canada, DACH and Japan only) and is the middleweight’s first fight since he beat Liam Williams in February last year.
"For Liam Williams or Liam Smith, Chris doesn't need me to beat these guys because the fighting Chris Eubank can beat both of these guys," Jones Jr told Sky Sports.
"However, he doesn't bring me in for these particular fighters, he brings me here to help him get better prepared for names like GGG (Golovkin) or Canelo.
"When you go with these guys, you can't be the old Chris that just goes out and lets his hands go, you've got to be a tactician, you've got to have a little bit more knowledge behind what you're doing.
"He's looking down the line at the bigger fights where he knows he's going to need more than just blasting people out with combinations, that won't work against these bigger guys, against Canelo or GGG."
Eubank is a year younger than 34-year-old Smith but typically fights at middleweight and super middleweight, with Smith usually a 154lb fighter.
"He [Eubank Jr] is bigger than Liam Smith, and if he's bigger than Liam Smith then a toe-to-toe fight is in his favour because he's the bigger fighter," Jones Jr explained.
"He's been fighting super-middleweights and middleweights, Liam Smith has been fighting junior-middleweights and middleweights, so Chris is definitely the bigger fighter.
"It all depends on how the fight goes, or how Chris chooses to fight the fight. If Liam comes in early and engages with Chris, and Chris hurts him, it's going to be a problem because Chris is the bigger fighter.
"At the same time, I think down the stretch is where Chris really gains momentum, because the longer the fight goes, the better it usually is for the bigger fighter."
Jones Jr. thinks that a win over Smith would position him as the best middleweight in Britain, and that could lead to interest from abroad.
He added: "I think he [Eubank Jr.] brings a lot to the table anyway, however, I feel like a good fight against Liam Smith would definitely make them say, 'ok, here's a guy who's worthy, who has a name, who has a whole country behind him'.
"Because if he beats Liam, he's clearly the best middleweight on this side of the pond, so now let's bring the best middleweights from that side of the pond, or wherever they're from, and let's make it happen.
"So I think a good win, and a stoppage for sure, definitely makes people have to open their eyes and realise he's definitely a contender and deserves a shot."