By Ian S Palmer
The British Middleweight title will be on the line this Saturday, March 26 when Chris Eubank Jr. takes on current champion Nick Blackwell at Wembley Arena in London. The 12-round contests can be seen live in the UK on Channel 5. Eubank has a previous shot at a British championship back in 2014, but lost a split decision to Billy Joe Saunders for his one and only career defeat. He’s won three fights in a row since that setback against Dmitry Chudinov, Tony Jeter and Gary O’Sullivan with all of them coming by stoppage. Blackwell won the British title in when he stopped John Ryder in seven rounds last May.
The 26-year-old Eubank will climb into the ring with an impressive record of 21-1 along with 16 Kos while the 25-year-old Blackwell enters the contest with a mark of 19-3-1 with 8 Kos to his name. Blackwell has also been beaten by Saunders as he dropped a decision to him in 2012. He defended his title twice last year against Damon Jones by sixth-round stoppage and by unanimous decision over Jack Arnfield. Blackwell has little one-punch knockout power to speak of, but has a pretty good chin to accompany his skills.
Eubank has better power in his fists and slightly better good boxing skills. He enters the ring with 118 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2011. He’s has faced mainly Grade B or less opponents and has never fought outside of his homeland of England. Eubank stands 5-feet-11-inches tall and has an unlisted reach. His current knockout ratio stands at 73 per cent. Blackwell has gone 152 rounds since 2009 and has an unlisted height and reach. He lacks power with a current knockout percentage of just 35.
Blackwell hasn’t really faced any top world-class opponents as of yet either other than perhaps Saunders and Martin Murray. His losses were to Saunders and Max Bursak, also by unanimous decision, as well as a fifth-round stoppage by Murray. Both Eubank and Blackwell are good domestic boxers, but not really world class at the moment. However, Eubank, like his father before him, could one day become a world champion if things fall his way. This isn’t really a big fight anywhere other than the UK, but if Eubanks can’t win this one then perhaps it’ll be time for him to realize he isn’t as good as he thinks he is.
Prediction
Eubank is faster and has more power while Blackwell should be highly motivated. It has the potential to be quite an exciting bout and that will especially hold true if Blackwell can manage to take Eubank’s power shots. In the end though, Eubank’s skills should be enough for him to dethrone the champion by late stoppage or decision.
