Billy Joe Saunders wins tough split decision win over Chris Eubank Junior

11/30/201411/29/2014 James Slater

Tonight in London, in one of the most heavily hyped and intriguing British middleweight clashes of recent years, Billy Joe Saunders ultimately proved too tough, too skilful and too experienced for a game and always dangerous Chris Eubank Junior.

At the end of 12 hard rounds, southpaw Saunders retained his unbeaten record and his European, British and Commonwealth titles. The scores were 115-114 for Saunders, 116-113 for Eubank and 115-113 for Saunders.

Thanks mostly to his famous father, there was plenty expected of Eubank Jr in the lead-up to this fight. “He beats [Gennady] Golovkin now,” Senior stated of his son. And, “He will be better than Floyd Mayweather Junior.” Such talk now looks foolish, if it didn’t before Saunders took away Junior’s unbeaten pro ledger. Still, Eubank Jr did display real grit, determination and a good chin. Sadly for those fans who hoped the young Eubank would achieve the great heights his father did, tonight’s challenger also displayed certain moves to rival those of a rank amateur, as well as a game-plan that saw him all but give away the early rounds.

The Art of Delusion

11/19/201411/18/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

Delusional, that’s a word you’ll have heard regularly within the world of boxing in the modern era and one you will hear more and more as we approach a series of grudge matches that has lit a fire beneath British boxing that is likely to see the levels of bluster reach fever pitch. It’s a word that has always interested me, simply because despite its negative connotations it is such a crucial weapon in the armory of a professional fighter.

The manifestations of such behavior is of course dictated by an individuals personality, but believe me, to a man, every boxer, journeyman aside, have convinced themselves completely that they have the beating of their opponent. To me, the only difference between these assertions being considered delusion rather than belief is the manner in which you choose to state it. In an era when self-promotion is as important to a fighters earning potential as skill, delusion has become somewhat of an art form and three of its chief exponents will benefit in the coming weeks.

Billy Joe Saunders slams Eubank Jnr. for failing to show up

11/04/201411/03/2014 ESB

Billy Joe Saunders has slammed Brighton Baby Chris Eubank Jnr. for failing to show up to yet another head-to-head press conference today to promote their Saturday 29th November showdown at the ExCeL London.

The Hatfield star, who had travelled from his training camp in Marbella with trainer Jimmy Tibbs, was stood up for the third time in a row by the seaside keyboard warrior who was replaced on the top table with a cardboard cutout.

Chris Eubank Snr’s reason for not letting his son not attend the press conference was because he claimed the security provided by promoter Frank Warren was not adequate for the safety of his son, following comments that Saunders would “slap” Eubank Jnr.

Eubank Jr defeats Siala, faces Saunders next

10/26/201410/26/2014 Bill Phanco

#9 WBO 160lb contender Chris Eubank Jr (18-0, 11 KOs) methodically broke down his 25-year-old opponent Omar Siala (23-18-3, 10 KOs) before stopping him in the 2nd round last night at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

Eubank Jr landed a tremendous right uppercut that sent Siala reeling towards the ropes. Eubank Jr then followed up with four additional uppercuts before referee Alvin Finch stepped in to stop the fight before Eubank Jr could seriously hurt Siala.

Billy Joe Saunders faces Chris Eubank Jr on 11/29

09/16/201409/15/2014 Jeff Sorby

The Tyson Fury vs. Dereck Chisora card just got a whole lot better with the news that middleweight contenders Chris Eubank Jr (17-0, 12 KOs) and Billy Joe Saunders (20-0, 11 KOs) will be facing each other on the undercard on November 29th at the Excel Arena in London, England.

Saunders and Eubank Jr have been taking verbal shots at each other for the past few months and now they get the chance to prove themselves.

Saunders, 25, missed out on fighting for the vacant WBO middleweight crown when the WBO opted to let WBO 154lb champion Demetrius Andrade move up in weight to fight for the vacant WBO middleweight title against #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) instead of letting Saunders, #2 WBO, get the shot. The logical choice would have been to have Saunders fighting Korobov for the WBO title, because Saunders was the next highest ranked contender for the vacant belt. But Andrade applied for the spot and was given the shot ahead of Saunders.

Butler defeats Hall; Eubank Jr. destroys Horvath

06/08/201406/07/2014 Bill Phanco

In a sight upset, undefeated #11 IBF Paul Butler (16-0, 8 KO’s) defeated IBF bantamweight champion Stuart Hall (16-3-2, 7 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision on Saturday night Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom. Many of the rounds were very difficult to score due to Hall landing the harder shots, but Butler connecting with more of his lighter punches.

The judges scored it 115-113, 117-111 for Butler, and 115-113 for Hall. Butler was very impressive with the beautiful combinations, the speed and the angles he was throwing his punches from. If had a little more power on his shots, it would have been a cut and dried case of him being the better fighter, but he didn’t have anywhere near the same kind of power that Hall did on his punches.

After the fight Butler said he would give Hall a rematch in order to clear up the controversy about the decision. Whether Hall gets a rematch or not remains to be seen.