Fight Talk: After beating Liam Williams in Cardiff, what's next for Chris Eubank Jr?
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In this week's Fight Talk, we react to Chris Eubank Jr's impressive victory over Liam Williams, in which the Welshman was floored four times. Their bitter rivalry is now settled, but what's next for Eubank? Conor Benn challenged him to a fight at a catchweight on social media, but should 'Next Gen' look for a world-title shot instead?
We also look at unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk making his professional football debut earlier this week. Is there anything that man can't do?
It's Fight Talk - your weekly fix of boxing news.
'Next Gen' delivers career best-performance
Eubank outclassed Williams on Saturday - knocking down the hometown hero in rounds one, two, four and 11, while angering a hostile crowd with regular showboating.
The judges scored the contest 116-109, 116-108 and 117-109. How did social media react? Let's break it down.
Round 1-4: Eubank starts strongly
Eubank looked sensational in the early stages. 'Next Gen', who has suffered two defeats in his 34-fight career, silenced the home crowd when he put Williams down during the opening round.
Williams was then floored again during the second round by a crisp left hook from Eubank.
The fight was seriously one-sided, but Williams dug deep and stayed in there.
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Round 5-8: Williams rallies as Eubank showboats
Spurred on by the home support, Williams rallied in the fifth and sixth rounds, but Eubank taunted Williams with dancing and feints - much to the annoyance of the crowd.
But after a fast start, the contest slowed.
Round 9-12: Eubank sees out the win
Eubank produced another enormous round in the 11th, when he knocked Williams down for a fourth time to hammer home his dominance on the judges' scorecards.
The showboating and mind games from Eubank would continue in the 12th, which saw Williams complain to the referee while his opponent taunted him and the crowd.
"I wanted to teach this man a lesson. He had said some very menacing things to me leading up to this fight and I wanted to punish him," said Eubank following the win.
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Who's next for Eubank?
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This was a statement victory by Eubank, and the best of his career.
The win was masterminded by his legendary trainer Roy Jones Jr, and he will now be hoping for a world middleweight title shot against IBF champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin later this year.
Indeed Eubank told BBC Sport he was interested in fighting Golovkin before the Williams fight.
But Benn also said he would be open to fighting his compatriot.
Speaking on Twitter, the 25-year-old said "I fancy my chances" at a catchweight, suggesting the pair could meet in the middle.
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There's incredible history between the two families, with Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn first fighting over 30 years ago. Eubank won by stoppage in 1990, before the rematch three years later ended in a split draw.
The boxing legends could pass down their rivalry to their sons, and heavyweight Derek Chisora is all in to witness this one.
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Would you be interested in seeing Benn and Eubank following in their father's footsteps? Get involved on social media using #bbcboxing
Born To Brawl: Chris Eubank Jr tells his story before fight with Liam Williams
Usyk makes pro football debut in Ukraine
In other news, Usyk took some time away from boxing to make his professional football debut for FC Polissya Zhytomyr during a 2-1 win over NK Veres Rivne on Friday.
The WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion came on as a substitute for the Ukrainian second-division team in their winter break friendly.
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Wearing the number 17 shirt, Usyk was shadowboxing on the sidelines as he prepared to come on in the 76th minute.
Usyk missed a golden chance to score just seconds after coming on but failed to make contact with the ball as the chance went begging.
Maybe stick to boxing, Oleksandr.
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- Published16 October 2022
