Chris Eubank Jr. says British middleweight champion Nick ‘Bang Bang’ Blackwell will go the same way as his last opponent, Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan, when the pair meet on March 26 at The SSE Arena, Wembley.
Three months ago Eubank Jr. settled a bitter feud with O’Sullivan by stopping the Irishman in seven rounds, and next weekend, live on Channel 5, he looks to do the same to Blackwell, a man who has claimed Eubank Jr. has been avoiding him for much of his career.
“It’s laughable for him to say I’ve been avoiding him,” said Eubank Jr., 21-1 (16 KOs). “He’s a boring guy. He has to say something to try and get some attention. His stories about me avoiding him are fantasy. He wants to get under my skin by saying I’m scared and have been dodging him.
“The truth is, every single middleweight in Britain has at some point said on Twitter that they’d love to fight Chris Eubank Jr. They’ve said it to their friends and to their promoter. I get tweets from fighters all the time. I guess I’ve ducked every fighter in Britain then. It doesn’t make any sense.
“It’s exactly the same as O’Sullivan – be careful what you wish for. Blackwell and O’Sullivan are in the same situation. They talk it up, they know they’re going to get paid nicely and that is genuinely the only reason why they want these fights. They know they are not on my level. They just want a payday. Blackwell will get a payday, but he’ll also get beaten.
“A fight between Blackwell and O’Sullivan would be close. I couldn’t say who would win. They both have different styles but are one dimensional, in my opinion. It wouldn’t be a very exciting fight.”
Eubank Jr.’s win over O’Sullivan marked his third stoppage victory of 2015 and showcased the Brighton man at his most aggressive and potent.
“I did everything I needed to do,” he recalled. “I went in there, made a statement and punished him for the disrespect he had shown me in the lead up to the fight. I boxed him into submission and made him quit. I made him give up. That’s the most dishonourable thing you can do in boxing really. He gave up when he could have continued.
“A knockout is lovely, but to see someone really and truly understand that there is no way they can win is a nice feeling as well. He realised he was being hurt, outboxed, outfought, humiliated and was out of his depth. He’s a strong guy and all it takes is one punch, but for him to think that he didn’t even have that chance – a puncher’s chance – says a lot. He knew there was no way he could win. That was very satisfying.”
*** Tickets for the British middleweight title blockbuster between Nick ‘Bang Bang’ Blackwell and Chris Eubank Jr. are priced at £35, £50, £75, £175, £200 and £250 for ringside and can be purchased online at ssearena.co.uk and axs.com or by phoning the SSE Arena, Wembley Box Office on 0844 815 0815 ***
