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VICTORY: Chris Eubank Jr

THE FUTURE is bright for Chris Eubank Jr after he successfully put former two-time IBF World Champion James DeGale to bed last weekend.

The victory will open up opportunities for the Brighton boxer at middleweight and super-middleweight.

Each fighter was desperate to prevail on the night and DeGale had gone so far as to dub the bout “the retirement ght” in the build-up. While DeGale did enough to edge a cagey first round, Eubank Jr set the pace in the second round as he unleashed a bruising left hook to spark an eight count against his rival from referee Michael Alexander.

From that point on, DeGale, who suffered a cut above his left eye in the early exchanges, fought courageously but struggled to find answers to the younger Eubank Jr’s consistent level of aggression and intensity, which never diminished as the fight wore on.

Eubank Jr demonstrated great patience to slowly build a point advantage with flurries of activity before he used his bullish strength to send DeGale to the canvas in the 10th round with another left hook.

Degale picked himself up and fought on with pride and guts but a relentless Eubank Jr finished strongly to make sure of victory in 12 rounds, which came by unanimous scores of 117-109, 114-112 and 115- 112.

The Brighton-based fighter received warm applause from fans on all sides of the packed O2 Arena when his arm was held aloft by the referee to signify the most significant win of his professional career.

After the fight, Eubank Jr said: “I’m back where I need to be – at the top of the food chain and now I’m coming for all the other belts in the super-middleweight division.

“I knew he [DeGale] would come in here and run. I’ve been working on my jabs, he is a very slick southpaw but the game-plan worked, smart pressure, not getting too ahead of myself, picking my shots and choosing my time to attack.”

WILD

DeGale, who was immediately gracious in defeat, said: “Chris is tough, he is a good prospect, he was on it. I just didn’t do enough. There were a lot of wild punches – punches I didn’t see. He was nicking the rounds and I have to go back and watch it. I just didn’t do enough.”

DeGale also took a moment to reflect, despite the defeat, on his incredible career and achievements in the ring: “I’ve been to the heights of boxing, I’ve won an Olympic gold medal, won the world title twice, made history and I’ve boxed the best around the world, I’ve left my mark in boxing.”

Watch our post-fight interview with boxing legend Chris Eubank Snr below:

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