Tonight in Cardiff, Chris Eubank Junior won his grudge-fight with Liam Williams, with the middleweight clash going the full 12 rounds. After scoring four knockdowns, Eubank had to settle for a points win; this was due to the incredibly gutsy effort from a seemingly out of it Williams.
In the end, the scores were a wide 116-109, 116-108 and 117-109, all for Eubank. Eubank is now 32-2(23). Williams falls to 23-3-1(18).
It was a quite an amazing fight at times, with Eubank looking very much like his trainer, the great Roy Jones.
At times, that is. Eubank, looking crisp-sharp, dropped Williams early, in the opening round, this from a left jab, and he dropped his man again in the second, from a left hand/right hand combo, and then Eubank scored a knockdown in the fourth, with another left hand.
It looked as though Williams was close to being finished yet the courageous Welshman staged an admirable comeback.
As Eubank was content to pot-shot, with plenty of showboating thrown in, Williams forced out the work.
Never stopping throwing his right hand, Williams, sometimes rough on the inside and marked up around the eyes, was clawing his way back into the fight. Eubank looked special, then he looked somewhat lazy. It was a perplexing fight.
Eubank was credited with another knockdown in round 11, but Williams complained bitterly that he had been pushed and replays showed he was right. Eubank gave the final round away by playing and not punching. Still, there was no doubt Eubank had done enough for the win. At times Eubank looked superb, at other times it was frustrating seeing him take his foot off the gas. Williams tried his best all night long but it wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t a classic tonight but the fight was engrossing all the way through and Eubank arguably scored the biggest and most important win of his career. But where does Eubank go next?
Eubank has some fine skills and he has speed and power, but can he beat the middleweight elite?
