Liam Smith says he is “open to anything” after stopping Chris Eubank Jr in round four of their middleweight contest in Manchester on Saturday.
Eubank has a rematch clause but Smith said former welterweight world champion Kell Brook, or middleweight great Gennady Golovkin were also options. Brook, 36, retired after beating Amir Khan in 2022, but Smith’s promoter suggested that the fight could be made.
“I’ve got good options, I’m in a good position,” said 34-year-old Smith. “If [Eubank] wants that rematch, I’ll give it to him. I’m open to anything, I always have been. If it’s Chris next, it’s Chris next.
“Ben Shalom (from Smith’s promoter Boxxer) said Kell wants to fight the winner. That’s a huge fight. There’s talk of Golovkin. We’re in a good position.”
Fellow Briton Brook, 36, won the IBF world title in the lighter welterweight division during his career but announced his retirement in May 2022, three months after beating Khan.
Kazakh fighter Golovkin has won multiple world titles at middleweight, with the only two defeats in his 45-fight career coming against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who is regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Shalom said it was up to 33-year-old Eubank if he wanted to activate the rematch clause. Eubank suggested on social media after the fight he would do that, but Smith insisted he would want the second fight to be in his home city.
“This has to be right for me now, on my terms,” he said. “[I want it in] Liverpool. The money side to it [has to change].”
Smith has stopped his past four opponents and moved up to middleweight to fight Eubank. The intriguing fight threatened to be overshadowed by an ugly build-up in fight week, where Eubank suffered taunts about his sexuality from Smith but responded with jibes of his own about social class and personal attacks on Smith about infidelity.
Eubank apologised, admitting he “regretted” what he had said. Smith briefly addressed the controversy in his post-fight news conference.
“It got a little bit out of hand between me and Chris,” he said. “I take what Chris said with a pinch of salt. I don’t think he means it. A lot was said.”