Eubank Jnr wins ‘do-or-die’ fight
(6) M Appleby 6 9-7 (CD3) .A Rawlinson 97 (10) P Evans 4 9-6 ............................... E J Walsh 98
(172) M Bell 5 9-5 .......................... L Steward — (31) Eve J-Houghton 4 9-1 .................. J Fanning 80 (872) D Shaw 6 8-13 ........................ P Mathers —
(12) S C Williams 5 8-9 ..................O Murphy 99
7-1 Led, driven and headed 2f out, ridden 1f out, no chance with winner when lost 2nd inside final furlong, 3rd of 7, 4l behind Matterhorn at Chelmsford City 1m hcp 0-100 (2) pol.
9-2 Always chasing winner, ridden just over 1f out, kept on same pace, 2nd of 6, 1l behind Book of Dreams at Lingfield 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) pol.
11-4 Slowly into stride, took keen hold, headway 7f out, lost 2nd and hanging left 4f out, weakened over 2f out, last of 6, 45l behind Everything For You at Haydock 1m 2f hcp 0-95 (3) sft in Sep. 8-1 Went right start, pulled hard in rear, headway over 1f out, soon not clear run, never a threat, 3rd of 7, 4l behind Executive Force at Chelmsford City 1m 2f hcp 0-80 (4) pol. 10-1 Keen early, prominent, pushed along over 2f out, weakened 1f out, 8th of 10, 7l behind Mr Scaramanga at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Jan. 10-1 Behind and outpaced, headway over 3f out, ridden and weakened over 1f out, 10th of 14, 13l behind Calvinist at York 1m 6f 3yo hcp 0-105 (2) gd in Oct ‘16. CHRIS Eubank Jnr is to explore returning to middleweight after reviving his career with a victory that leaves James DeGale facing retirement.
The 29-year-old dominated their grudge super-middleweight matchup at London’s O2 Arena, knocking DeGale down twice to secure the finest win of his career and put himself back into contention for a world title challenge.
He has been fighting at 168lbs since February 2017, yet continued to appear a natural middleweight. He had long suggested a return there would give him his greatest chance of success.
A lucrative offer to compete in the World Boxing Super Series and then his rivalry with DeGale ensured he remained there, but his father and manager Chris Eubank Snr, who excelled in both divisions before retiring after successive defeats at cruiserweight, is encouraging him to return.
Saturday’s victory was also Eubank Jnr’s first under his new trainer Nate Vasquez, and came as he demonstrated significant signs of improvement, ultimately ensuring that they will continue to work together.
“This was a career-defining fight for me, this was make-or-break, do-or-die,” he said. “I had to win, I had to make a statement, and that’s exactly what I did.
“I want to challenge for world titles, I want to fight big names, the best in the middleweight or supermiddleweight division. I can make both weights, whatever’s put in front of me, whatever the best route is, I will take.
“It’s extremely satisfying. (DeGale) saying that I can’t mix it at world level, I can’t beat the top guys, I needed to prove that wrong. He managed to get a lot of people to believe that. So now, hopefully, I’ve turned some of the doubters, haters, into believers. I didn’t think he had it in him to get up after two heavy knockdowns like that, to keep going, and take those big shots. Respect to him for that.”
DeGale confirmed post-fight that he is likely to retire, and when asked about Vasquez’s influence and a potential rematch with Billy Joe Saunders, Eubank Jnr said: “Nate brought focus to the preparation. He brought a tailored, focused training camp, which I’ve never really had before. “I had the right sparring, was working on the right things, for James DeGale.
“For this we studied, had a strategy, and that’s what we’ll continue to do for my future fights.
“(Me and Saunders have) got a lot of history. I look at that and the rivalry we have – it’s tough not to want that fight.”
This was a careerdefining fight for me, make-or-break,
do-or-die