Billy Joe Saundersย said he would retire if Chris Eubank Jnr beat him on Saturday night at the Excel Arena. I wonder what Saunders was thinking when Phil Edwards score of 116-113 Eubank was read out following the announcement of a split decision. It must have crossed his mind that the old Eubank curse of winning close fights was going to carry on to Jnr but thankfully the two other judges Marcus McDonnell (115-114) and Terry O’Connor (115-113) scored the fight for Saunders with the vast majority agreeing he was the deserved victor.
The fight played out as many expected. Saunders the more experienced fighter started better using a southpaw jab that messed up Eubank’s ability to get his feet right for any concerted attack. Beforehand the general feeling was that Saunders was at least 18 months ahead of Eubank in terms of development. Being the British, Commonwealth and European champion evidenced this sentiment, but the fact Saunders wanted this fight so badly โ with a shot at the WBO title on the horizon โ must be hugely respected.
Read all the action as it happened from the huge Bad Blood show at Londonโs ExCel
Eubank Jnrโs ability at title level was unknown. He and his father had talked their way into this fight with some outlandish claims and demands. Eubank even started the bookies favourite, after a slew of late bets on the challenger, which was amazing when he had not gone beyond eight rounds in his 18 prior fights.
As we entered the second half of the fight Eubank Jnr abandoned his low posturing work rate and began to rush Saunders using the uppercut inside, a punch that has knocked out a few of his previous opponents. It was crude but effective as the challenger got himself back into things. Saunders regrouped and then began to catch Eubank coming in matching him inside with some hooks inside. Eubank must have known he was behind as his corner team were telling him he needed a KO but amazingly Jnr told Ronnie Davies to “stop talking” when Davies tried to give some instructions.
Read all the action as it happened from the huge Bad Blood show at Londonโs ExCel
After a incredible effort in the last by Eubank to end the fight Saunders threw his hands up in the air when the final bell sounded. It had been a very good fight that certainly lived up to the hype. It had looked like the experts where right though with Saunders had proving he was the better more experienced guy. Eubank to his credit had shown that he was ready for anyone in the UK or Europe as he had pushed Saunders all the way
Saunders deserved the verdict no doubt but again questions were asked about one of the UK officialโs score. Last week Terry O’Connor rightly got flak for judging Nathan Cleverly the winner over Tony Bellew. This week it was Phil Edwards who only gave Saunders four rounds. These scores just do not make sense and must be challenged by the fighter or their promotional team. Again like last week, the right man got the decision. But that doesn’t excuse the poor scorecard.
Below is 43 scores from the boxing media who watched and scored the fight along with stats on the scoring and my full scorecard.
Bobby Hunter’s Scorecard:
Round 1…. 10-9 Saunders
Round 2…. 10-9 Saunders
Round 3…. 10-9 Saunders
Round 4…. 9-10 Eubank Jnr
Round 5… 10-10 DRAW
Round 6…. 9-10 Eubank Jnr
Round 7…. 10-9 Saunders
Round 8…. 9-10 Eubank Jnr
Round 9…. 10-9 Saunders
Round 10.. 10-9 Saunders
Round 11.. 10-9 Saunders
Round 12.. 9-10 Eubank Jnr
TOTAL : 116-113 SAUNDERS
Judges Scores:
Marcus McDonnell : 115-114 Saunders
Phil Edwards : 116-113 Eubank Jnr
Terry O’Connor : 115-113 Saunders
Boxing Media Totals:
43 In Total
33 Scores for Saunders (77 per cent)
3 Scores for Eubank Jnr (7 per cent)
7 Scores for a Draw (16 per cent)
Average score, 115-113 for Saunders
Media scores:
Barry Jones (Boxnation TV): 115-113 Saunders
John Wharton (Freelance): 115-113 Saunders
Mathew Mojica (FightSource): 115-113 Saunders
Andy Paterson (BoxingAsylum): 116-112 Saunders
Adam Canavan (BoxingMadMagazine): 116-112 Saunders
Kurt Ward (BoxingAsylum): 115-113 Saunders
Ron Lewis (The Times): 115-113 Saunders
I Edit Boxing: 114-114 DRAW***
Alex Morris (BoxingAsylum): 116-112 Saunders
Phil D Jay (WorldBoxingNews): 114-114 DRAW***
Adam Abramowitz (SaturdayNightBoxing): 115-113 Saunders
Tom Gray (Ring Magazine): 116-113 Saunders
Scott Christ (BadLeftHook): 115-113 Saunders
LeaveItInTheRingRadio: 115-113 Saunders
Fighters Rated: 116-112 Saunders
Shaun Brown (TheFightCity): 114-114 DRAW***
John Hoolan (Freelance): 115-113 Saunders
Box Talk: 115-113 Saunders
Beau Denison (TheBoxingTruth): 115-113 Saunders
Victor M Salazar (ThaBoxingVoice) : 115-113 Saunders
Dan Rafael (ESPN) : 116-112 Saunders
Boxing Guru: 115-113 Eubank Jnr **
Pro Boxing Fans: 115-113 Saunders
John Evans (LiveFight): 116-113 Saunders
Brian Campbell (ESPN): 116-112 Saunders
Paul Smith Jnr (SKY TV): 115-113 Saunders
Steve Adams Jnr (PunchPerfectPugilism): 114-114 DRAW***
FirstClassBoxing: 115-113 Saunders
Tommy Allan (BoxingAsylum): 116-112 Saunders
Livefight: 116-113 Saunders
Wolfgang Schiffbauer (Sturm Promotions): 115-113 Eubank Jnr**
Andy Clarke (Boxnation TV): 115-114 Saunders
Instant Boxing: 115-113 Saunders
TheBoxingBrains: 115-114 Saunders
EBoxingnews: 115-113 Saunders
Ryan Bivins (SweetBoxing): 114-114 DRAW***
Paul Daley (TopClassBoxing): 114-114 DRAW***
Andrew McKart (FirstClassBoxing): 115-113 Saunders
No Holds Barred: 116-112 Eubank Jnr **
Nigel Collins (ESPN FNFs ): 115-114 Saunders
Terry Dooley ( BoxingScene): 116-112 Saunders
Rob Palmer (CheckHookBoxing): 114-114 DRAW***
Ciaran Shanks (Irvine Times): 117-112 Saunders
Read all the action as it happened from the huge Bad Blood show at Londonโs ExCel
“Eubank Jnr must now shut his mouth,” says Saunders
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