Liam Smith apologises for 'homophobic' comments to Chris Eubank Jr
Liam Smith apologises for his ‘homophobic’ comments aimed at Chris Eubank Jr… as he insists he ‘fully regrets’ quizzing his rival on his sexuality at their pre-fight press conference
- Liam Smith beat Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday night in Manchester via knockout
- But the pre-match buildup largely focused on the pair’s final press conference
- Smith insinuated that his opponent was gay as they traded personal insults
- The Liverpudlian said on Monday after the fight that he ‘was not a homophobe’
Liam Smith has apologised for his comments to Chris Eubank Jr in the buildup to their fight on Saturday, saying he is ‘far from a homophobe’ after insinuating that his opponent was gay.
The pair’s fight was highly anticipated, but much of the attention beforehand focused on the final press conference where Smith said ‘nobody in this room has ever seen you with a woman’ to Eubank Jr.
But after knocking out his rival in the fourth round on Saturday night, Smith on Monday walked back his comments and expressed remorse.
Liam Smith won via knockout in the fourth round versus Chris Eubank on Saturday
The fight ended one minute and nine seconds into the fourth round in Manchester
‘I fully regret it, and it’s come across so wrong in the way I played [it] out and wanted it to be,’ he told talkSPORT’s White & Jordan.
‘It shouldn’t have been said anyway, but it was a press conference and it was kinda… there’s cameras and like I said there’s millions of people watching. So I fully regret the whole buildup and I apologize to anyone who took offense by it.
‘I’m not a homophobe, I come from a good family.’
Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith stand face to face during a press conference on Thursday
Sky Sports presenter Anna Woolhouse was forced to apologise for ‘offensive’ and ‘homophobic’ language used throughout the press conference, while Eubank and Liam Smith face an investigation from the British Boxing Board of Control over the event.
Smith said to Eubank, ‘Do you have something you want to tell us?’ to which Eubank said, ‘It’s a very personal question to ask me directly. You can slide in my DMs or you can do it right now.’
Smith then responded: ‘I’m not that type of way, mate, I like women.’
Later in the press conference, Eubank accused his impending opponent of cheating on his wife ‘on occasion’.
The fight puts Smith on the bath of potentially adding to his collection of titles
Eubank looked dejected after the fight and sported an extremely swollen eye as well
‘I’d rather be gay than a cheat,’ he said as he referenced the earlier spat.
‘You haven’t got a missus to cheat on,’ Smith said.
Smith’s war of words with Eubank concluded Saturday night as he knocked out his opponent at one minute and nine seconds into the fourth round.
And while the win has set up on Smith on a path towards more titles and a potential fight vs. Conor Benn, he acknowledged Monday that he’d done irreparable harm in the eyes of some.
‘I’ve lost fans who I’ll probably never get back,’ he said.
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