Chris Eubank Jr might be the bigger, stronger man in his long-awaited match-up with Conor Benn, but he can certainly still suffer a damaging knockout, according to Liam Smith.

Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs) is speaking from experience, having boxed Eubank Jr twice in 2023, knocking him out in the fourth round of their first bout.

Known for showing durability and a solid chin throughout his career, it was the first time Eubank Jr (34-3, 25 KOs) had ever looked hurt in the boxing ring, and Smith isn't renowned for his power punching.

Eubank Jr and Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) are finally set to fight in a big stadium clash in the spring, with Tottenham Hotspur likely to host the bout pegged for April 26th.

And Smith is adamant that Benn's jump up to middleweight won't make a jot of difference if he catches Euabnk Jr with a shot he doesn't expect.

"Do you think Conor can't knock Chris out? Anyone can be knocked out with those little gloves," the Liverpudlian told Seconds Out. "If Chris isn't looking or he doesn't see the shot, anyone can be flattened.

"If [Eubank Jr] does it I won't be thinning 'woah, Conor Benn knocked Chris out, and vice versa, Conor's been down off journeyman. I won't be like 'oh my god, Eubank stopped Benn'. They've both got their frailties and vulnerabilities, and their strengths."

Smith hasn't fought since his his tenth-round TKO loss to Eubank Jr in their September 2023 rematch, though he was supposed to return on the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois undercard last year.

A training camp virus struck Smith down just two weeks before he supposed to fight Josh Kelly, and now he's looking to get back into the mix once again, with an eye firmly on Eubank Jr-Benn.

He added: "I'll be an interested observer because I'll fight before them. It's hard for me to call names out now but once I'm back I'll call the names out I want to call out."

Smith is also convinced that the only reason Benn has agreed to fight Eubank Jr at 160 pounds, with their originally-scheduled bout in October 2022 set at a catchweight 157 pound limit, is because he's seen the 35-year-old badly hurt since then.

"I think a lot of the Benn-Eubank Jr situation is because of my fight with him," he said.

"I think Benn has seen him hurt now, no-one had seen him hurt til I boxed him, no-one had seen him on his back til I boxed him.

"Before I boxed him, Conor wouldn't fight him at 160, it's just a fact, I'm not being big-headed."