[FIGHT THREAD] Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith, Richard Riakporhe vs Krzysztof Glowacki, Ekow Essuman vs Chris Kongo, Joseph Parker vs Jack Massey, Frazer Clarke vs Kevin Nicolas Espindola & live round-by-round coverage
DATE Saturday 21st January 2023
LOCATION Manchester Arena, Manchester, UK
TELEVISION Sky Sports Box Office (UK), DAZN (Selected Worldwide)
FREE FIRST HOUR Sky Sports Boxing Facebook
TIME 6pm (Manchester), 10am (LA), 1pm (NYC), 5am Sunday (Sydney)
MAIN EVENT START TIME Approx. 5 hours after times above
Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith
12 Rounds
Middleweight Division
| Chris Eubank Jr | vs | Liam Smith |
|---|---|---|
| 32(23)-2-0 | RECORD | 32(19)-3-1 |
| 33 | AGE | 34 |
| 5'11" | HEIGHT | 5'9.5" |
| 72.5" | REACH | ? |
| 159 lbs | WEIGHT | 159 lbs |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| Brighton, UK | HOMETOWN | Liverpool, UK |
| 5(2)-0-0 | LAST FIVE | 4(3)-1-0 |
Richard Riakporhe vs Krzysztof Glowacki
12 Rounds
Cruiserweight Division
| Richard Riakporhe | vs | Krzysztof Glowacki |
|---|---|---|
| 15(11)-0-0 | RECORD | 32(20)-3-0 |
| 33 | AGE | 36 |
| 6'5" | HEIGHT | 6'0" |
| 77" | REACH | 75" |
| 199.25 lbs | WEIGHT | 197/25 lbs |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Southpaw |
| London, UK | HOMETOWN | Walcz, Poland |
| 5(3)-0-0 | LAST FIVE | 3(2)-2-0 |
Ekow Essuman vs Chris Kongo
12 Rounds
Welterweight Division
| Ekow Essuman | vs | Chris Kongo |
|---|---|---|
| 18(7)-0-0 | RECORD | 14(7)-1-0 |
| 33 | AGE | 30 |
| 5'10" | HEIGHT | 6'0" |
| 146 lbs | WEIGHT | 146.25 lbs |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| Nottingham, UK | HOMETOWN | London, UK |
| 5(2)-0-0 | LAST FIVE | 4(1)-1-0 |
Joseph Parker vs Jack Massey
10 Rounds
Heavyweight Division
| Joseph Parker | vs | Jack Massey |
|---|---|---|
| 30(21)-3-0 | RECORD | 20(11)-1-0 |
| 31 | AGE | 29 |
| 6'4" | HEIGHT | 6'2" |
| 245.25 lbs | WEIGHT | 213.25 lbs |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| Auckland, New Zealand | HOMETOWN | Chapel-en-le-Frith, UK |
| 4(1)-1-0 | LAST FIVE | 4(3)-1-0 |
Frazer Clarke vs Kevin Nicolas Espindola
8 Rounds
Heavyweight Division
| Frazer Clarke | vs | Kevin Nicolas Espindola |
|---|---|---|
| 4(3)-0-0 | RECORD | 7(2)-6-0 |
| 31 | AGE | 26 |
| 6'6" | HEIGHT | 6'0" |
| 272 lbs | WEIGHT | 285 lbs |
| Orthodox | STANCE | Orthodox |
| Burton upon Trent, UK | HOMETOWN | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| 4(3)-0-0 | LAST FIVE | 1(0)-4-0 |
Other Undercard Fights
- Scott Forrest vs Amine Boucetta
- Frankie Stringer vs Cristian Narvaez
- Matty Harris vs Jiri Surmaj
Live Round-By-Round Coverage
Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith
Round 1
The crowd has played its part. Now it's over to the fighters. And we're off. Eubank Jr jabs to the body. Smith with a harder jab to the body. Solid jab from Eubank Jr through the guard. The Brighton man scores with a one-two. They tie up and trade rib-ticklers. Eubank Jr ducks into a punch. Soft jab Eubank Jr. Eubank Jr jabs, but he's caught with a right counter. Smith to the body. Smith bullies his man into the corner. Eubank Jr throwing wildly, but he misses with everything. Right to the body from Smith. They tie up, and it all gets a bit messy with Eubank Jr doing the better work up close. Interesting opener.
Smith 10-9 Eubank Jr
Round 2
Eubank Jr looked exposed at times in the first. Let's see if Smith can walk him onto a big one. Jab from Eubank Jr. Eubank Jr gets busy with the jab. Smith is not giving his man the time he likes to set his feet. The referee has to step in as some borderline illegal punches get thrown in the clinch. Smith is all over his man again, but he can't land anything of note. Hard jab Eubank Jr. It's been a quiet second minute of the round. Eubank Jr to the body. Big left hook lands on Smith's cheek. Uppercut from Smith. Double jab from Eubank Jr. Ooh, that's a tough round to call.
Eubank Jr 10-9 Smith - Draw 19-19
Round 3
Jab from Eubank Jr. They exchange jabs. Left hook CEJ. Eubank Jr misses by a mile, so Smith clubs him on the back of the head. Nice jab from Eubank Jr catches his man on the way in. Eubank Jr with a couple of scoring jabs. Smith has not managed to keep up the pace he had in the opening four minutes. Right scores from Smith. Eubank Jr keeps jabbing away, picking up scoring punches. Clubbing right hook from Eubank Jr. Eubank lands an uppercut then smothers Smith's work as the Liverpudlian looks to close in on his man in the corner. Right hook from Eubank Jr to the head. Smith replies, but he's clearly lost this round.
Eubank Jr 10-9 Smith - Eubank Jr 29-28 Smith
Round 4
Smith jabs to the body. Eubank Jr jabs to the head. Eubank Jr jabs, but Smith with a big right. Smith throws the kitchen sink at his opponent AND EUBANK JR IS DOWN! HE'S UP AND HE CAN BARELY STAND. The referee lets him continue after an unconvincing 8 count. AND EUBANK IS DOWN AGAIN! THE REFEREE HAS CALLED IT OFF BUT THE DRUNK-LOOKING CHRIS EUBANK JR WANTS TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT! His team pulls him off his opponet, and Smith is going crazy with delight. Smith taunts his beaten opponent, but Eubank Jr offers an honourable touch of the gloves. WOW!