Saunders and Eubank Jr settle their rivalry in the ring…
Billy Joe Saunders secured a split decision win over rival Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday night to retain his British, Commonwealth and European middleweight titles.
After dominating the opening six rounds with his superior boxing skills, Saunders met more resistance in the second half of the fight as the challenger began to find his range and traded with his opponent.
However, it wasn’t enough as he began to tire in his first full 12-rounder and ultimately Saunders did enough to get the nod on two of three judges scorecards.
Saunders insisted after the fight that he had respect for Eubank Jr as a fighter, but he still didn’t like him as a person as he promised him a shot at a world title if he defeats either Andy Lee or Matvey Korobov next year.
While Eubank Jr will now have to re-group and build himself back up, potentially dropping back to fight domestic fighters first, Saunders will likely receive his title shot in February.
Nevertheless, it was still a memorable and thrilling bout between the pair and with the main event failing to live up to expectations, it was arguably the fight of the night at the Excel Arena in London Saturday.
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