Chris Eubank Jr described Liam Smith’s victory against him as a “miracle” as he vowed to take revenge in their rematch on Saturday in Manchester.
Smith won in four rounds seven months ago in the first knockout defeat of Eubank’s career.
Eubank, 33, now faces new “pressure and risk” in a fight that marks the first time he has faced an opponent twice.
“The performance will be exquisite, supernatural, a beautiful artistic display of savage boxing,” Eubank said.
“Even to Liam, he may not admit it, he was not expecting the [first] fight to go how it finished. Nobody did. I have to prove that I am the better fighter.
“Me saying it, me believing it, is not enough. If he pulls it off again, I can’t argue with anybody. I can’t argue with him.
“I can’t argue with the boxing public. He will be the better fighter and that will be it.”
Liverpool’s Smith, 35, was amused by Eubank’s description of his January win, saying: “Which one’s the miracle? What shot was the miracle?”
Eubank replied: “The miracle was you walking away with a win over me. You shouldn’t have won the fight and I am going to rectify that.”
‘The miracle was how easy it was’
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, the fighters and their teams argued back and forth, with Eubank’s trainer labelling Smith’s victory as a “punch from the gods”.
Seven months ago, the pre-fight news conference was marred by homophobic taunts and taunts about social class, but there were no such flashpoints this time, with both men sticking to fighting talk.
Smith tried to irk his opponent and his new trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre, but Eubank remained calm.
McIntyre, the coach of undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford, has been training Eubank for just a month.
“Chris is a sponge. He soaks it up and executes it. He already knows what he has to do,” McIntyre said of the new partnership. He is Eubank’s third head trainer in four years after spells with Roy Jones Jr and Nate Vazquez.
Smith warned the American trainer he would be blamed should Eubank lose again.
“Brian and the rest of the team, be prepared for the backlash because he’ll blame you,” Smith said.
“He blames everyone bar himself. You make the mistakes. Take it on the chin yourself.
“The miracle was how easy it was [in the first fight]. The fight never got going. I [only] touched you.”
Can Smith keep superb winning streak going? – analysis
In the days before their fight in January, Eubank was full of confidence, promising to destroy Smith inside a few rounds.
On Thursday, Smith repeatedly harked back to Eubank’s previous statement of “never been dropped, never been stopped” in a lively news conference.
There were no ugly scenes as with their previous encounter, but there was an obvious change in Eubank’s demeanour.
He clearly wasn’t eager to engage with Smith’s attempts to get under his skin and barely responded as Smith spoke to him during the face-off.
Eubank’s words focused on himself and the changes he has made under McIntyre, and it will not be lost on the fighter how important this rematch is.
A loss could spell the end of not just Eubank’s dreams of challenging for a world title, but his position as one of the country’s biggest boxing stars.
Smith, on the other hand, is riding a four-fight knockout streak as he continues to ride a purple patch few people outside his close-knit team would have predicted at this stage of his career.
He was unmoved by Eubank’s bravado last time and wasn’t bothered by his promises of revenge this time.
“You said all this last time,” Smith said, fittingly.
