Rising Middleweight star Chris Eubank Jr is set to take care of another preliminary dustup before he steps closer to European and world territory. Across the ring on March 5th at the Glow, Kent, will be British champion Nick Blackwell, a tough domestic talent who is known for cranking up the pressure coming forward.
Although beatable, there are enough question marks circling Eubank Jr (21-1, 16 KO) to make this domestic encounter interesting. Eubank may have had his way for the most part with Gary O’Sullivan in late 2015, but against Blackwell (19-3-1, 8 KO) he will find a much younger, hungrier, and quite simply superior foe.
“Pleased to announce the fight with Chris Eubank Jr is happening and will take place March 5th at Glow, Bluewater,” Blackwell said in a press release. “[I’ll be] defending my British title. I’m going to be 110% for this fight and trust me, I’ll be walking away with that British for keeps.”
Stylistically, this should make for a hearty recipe, as both men are developing prospects who still have a lot of growing to do. Blackwell’s numbers may pale a little against his scheduled dance partner, but look a little closer at that record and you’ll find out why.
Blackwell suffered his first defeat at the hands of Martin Murray in 2011, being Retired in the 5th round. That was Blackwell’s 10th pro outing, and that acid test came far too quickly if you ask me. Blackwell bounced back, clocked up some wins, and soon found himself in the ring with future Eubank opponent, Billy Joe Saunders.
Blackwell found himself on the wrong side of a Unanimous Decision, but made a good showing of himself, arguably besting Eubank’s 2014 effort against Saunders. Max Bursak was the next man to beat Blackwell, winning via Unanimous Decision in 2013. The bout was competitive, however, with Blackwell scoring a 5th round knockdown.
In terms of notable scalps, Blackwell added some good domestic wins to his record in 2015, knocking out John Ryder and Damon Jones in under 7 rounds, and winning a hard-fought war over Jack Arnfield to close the year. I wouldn’t be quick to write off Blackwell in a hurry in the Eubank fight, and if I was a betting man, (short of poking my head into height, reach and that business) I might even be tempted to back the underdog here.
How do you see Chris Eubank Jr vs Nick Blackwell unfolding? Is this an unnecessary cash-making-record-plumper for Eubank? Or is Blackwell about to pull off the upset, becoming only the second man (Saunders was the first) to topple Eubank?
