The 26 year-old was on top for almost every round – solely on the volume of power punches landed, although credit has to go to Blackwell for standing toe-to-toe with Eubank and making it an entertaining contest.
On my card, I just couldn’t give Blackwell any of the rounds until Eubank took a session off in the ninth as the challenger was too accurate with his uppercuts and body shots to give anything away.
Eubank would have a one minute burst at the start of the round, which was enough to cause massive damage to Blackwell through eight, and put the points in the bag in case they were needed.
At the start of the tenth, Eubank Sr. ordered his son to take Blackwell out after questioning why the fight hadn’t been stopped and Junior duly obliged inflicting more punishment until the referee ordered a closer look.
Blackwell’s face was a complete mess as the Trowbridge man had a broken nose and a grotesquely swollen eye and Victor Loughlin, in conjunction with the ringside physician, waved the contest off.
Before the bout, Billy Joe Saunders had taunted Eubank and his father in the ring by waving the British title in their faces to stir up even more bad blood between the pair. A Saunders v Eubank Jr rematch has been talked about for some time but it seems both fighters are moving in different directions for the time being.
Saunders faces Max Bursak later in the year, whilst Eubank is number one contender for Danny Jacobs’ WBA championship.
