The mere thought of Liam Smith pulling off the upset made Chris Eubank Jr. incredulous. Although he was filled with hubris, Eubank constantly claimed that his normally unmatched work ethic was unnecessary this time around.

Smith though, took Eubank’s jest in stride. As the two met in the center of the ring on January 21st, Eubank pranced around, striking the former champion at 154 pounds whenever he wanted.

Ultimately, Eubank’s aesthetically pleasing style was rendered extraneous as Smith pounded his man during the fourth period. In what amounted to an offensive onslaught, Eubank hit the deck. Although he managed to peel himself up off the canvas, Eubank’s legs were ostensibly gone. Moments later, coupled with a few violent shots, referee Victor Loughlin was forced to wave the white flag.

Shortly after, a slew of emotions ran through Eddie Hearn. While he admits that his jaw hit the ground at the precise time that Eubank’s head bounced off the mat, the longtime promoter is kicking himself for jumping on Eubank’s bandwagon.

“A 10 in terms of getting knocked out,” said Hearn to BoxingScene.com when asked how surprised he was by the end result. “Getting beat, we should've known better.”

There were plenty of reasons to believe that Smith was simply in over his head. For starters, the 34-year-old has spent the vast majority of his career competing as a junior middleweight. But, in an effort to seek new challenges, Smith opted to move up in weight as opposed to vacillating between the two.

After getting his feet wet against journeymen Hassan Mwakinyo, Smith would, of course, go on to snag one of the biggest wins of his career against Eubank. But while the former world titlist is being praised, Hearn is flummoxed for failing to predict their showdown accurately.

Following a six-fight win streak, Eubank found himself on the verge of landing a title fight against one of the current champions at 160 pounds. His bravado and overwhelming self-belief, however, did little to help him against Smith. As Hearn ponders his initial decision to back Eubank, he concludes that his original assumption was a tenuous one.

Now, having observed the two actually in the ring, Hearn believes that Smith was and always has been the better man.

“Chris, his aura makes you feel like, and his confidence, that he’s gonna win the fight but actually, Liam Smith is a much better fighter.”