The explosive clash between world-class middleweights Blackwell and Eubank Jr. headlines a stacked fight card which also features heavyweight sensation Hughie Lewis Fury in a scheduled 12-round contest against a world-ranked opponent.
Twenty-five-year-old Blackwell, 19-3-1 (8 KOs) and currently one of the most exciting fighters in the country, won the British middleweight title in May 2015 with a stunning seventh-round stoppage of John Ryder at a sold-out O2 Arena, live on Sky Sports Box Office. He then defended it twice before the year was out, knocking out Damon Jones with a single right hand in Derby and outpointing Jack Arnfield in an all-out war in Bristol, and now has his sights set on claiming the belt outright. To do so, all he needs is one more successful defence.
Eubank Jr., meanwhile, clearly represents the stiffest test of Blackwell’s thrilling British title reign. He is a year older than the champion at 26 and is the former interim WBA world middleweight titleholder.
Recent stoppage wins over Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan, Tony Jeter and Dmitry Chudinov have seen Eubank Jr. in dynamic, hard-hitting form, and his narrow points defeat to world champion Billy Joe Saunders in November 2014, his sole career loss, has brought him on leaps and bounds. He is now, at 21-1 (16 KOs), coming into his prime and eager to get his hands on a British title which means so much to the Eubank family.
Two physical beasts of the middleweight division, the pairing of Blackwell and Eubank at The SSE Arena, highly-anticipated for many months now, is expected to produce both a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender and a future world champion. It promises to be something very special.
*** Tickets for Blackwell vs. Eubank Jr. at The SSE Arena, Wembley, will go on general sale next week, and Hennessy Sports urge fans to be quick as there has already been a very high demand. Details of the first head-to-head press conference, meanwhile, will be announced in due course ***
*** Blackwell vs. Eubank Jr. will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Channel 5 (9.45pm) while the pick of the undercard will be televised live and exclusively in the UK on Spike (from 7.30pm) ***
