RAHEEM , VICTORY WAS FOR YOU AND YOUR OLD MAN
Eubank Jnr dedicates emotional win to late brother Seb and his baby son
CHRIS EUBANK JNR dedicated his emotional win over Wanik Awdijan to his late brother, Sebastian, and infant son.
Sebastian tragically died of a heart attack in July, just a month after the birth of his son Raheem.
And Eubank said his stoppage win at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena was for them.
After his five-round victory Eubank posted a picture of himself with Raheem on Instagram with the message: “Raheem, tonight was for you and your old man. We miss him and now he’ll live on through you. Big shoes to fill.”
The middleweight star had Sebastian’s name on his shorts and robe and the whole family is still trying to come to terms with his sudden death.
Awdijan was Eubank’s first outing since Sebastian’s passing and he said it felt good to be back in the ring after he had seen a fight fall through two weeks ago.
“With everything that’s happened over the last few months, it’s good to be back home,” he said. “That’s my home in that four-corner circle, that’s my life.”
After taking a couple of rounds to adjust to Awdijan’s
southpaw stance after training for an orthodox fighter, Eubank broke the Armenian-born German, 26, with body shots.
Eubank visibly hurt Awdijan in the fifth and he failed to answer the bell for the sixth, claiming one of his shots had broken a rib.
“I’d liked to have put on more of a show. The guy came over and said I broke his rib with a body shot and that he couldn’t continue,” added Eubank, 32.
He now wants a big fight in December, possibly against former world title challenger Liam Williams or
his old rival Billy Joe Saunders – the “rat” as he called him.
“We’re on to the next one, a big fight in December,” he said. “I want anybody with a world title, anybody the fans want to see me fight. A guy that keeps popping up is Liam Williams. Everybody seems to want to see that fight. That’s an option.
“You’ve got that rat Saunders running around. He wants to fight me for five mil. The options are endless.”
Trainer Roy Jones Jnr insists Eubank is ready for the step up as he bids to land his first major world title at middleweight. “Yes, I know he’s ready for the big names,” Jones said.
“To see him take a guy out with body shots says something different and I’ve never seen him do that before.”
A week after cousin Tyson’s glory in Las Vegas, Hughie Fury (left) took a step towards another world heavyweight title shot by stopping Christian Hammer in five rounds in Newcastle.
The German, 34, retired with a torn right bicep and Fury claimed he wanted out.
“The stoppage was coming no matter what,” he said. “You could see Hammer was sick of being hit. That was only 50 percent of me.”