The Lonsdale Belt is the oldest championship belt in boxing and its status among British fighters has resulted in some fantastic dust-ups over the years.
On March 26th, Chris Eubank Jr gets another chance to capture the prestigious belt when he challenges Nick Blackwell for the British middleweight title at the Wembley Arena.
Blackwell earned the middleweight strap last May with a fantastic stoppage win over John Ryder. Eubank will be keen not to repeat the result of his first crack at the British title when he came up short against the now WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders.
So why has Eubank opted to face Blackwell over a mandatory shot at WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs? At the press conference he gave his answer as the two fighters came face-to-face. “This is something from a very early age that I always wanted to accomplish in my career,” Eubank Jr said of the British title. “Once we get in there and start fighting, he’ll show cowardice and end up quitting or getting knocked out.”
Having already shared a ring in sparring both fighters should have a rough idea of what they’re up against. Blackwell wasn’t shy to share his version of events. “He knows. That’s why he hasn’t took the last three times we were supposed to fight. He knows what happened last time in sparring,“ said the middleweight champion.
Despite showing respect to his son’s opponent, the presence of Eubank Sr, or ‘English’ as he now prefers to be called, ensured the presser wasn’t without its share of poetic sparring. “It’s difficult to find anyone with his speed, his irrepressibility, his attitude, his cold-like demeanour, “ remarked Eubank’s father. “Again in my view, as a former participant, I can’t see anyone in the middleweight division or super middleweight division staying with him in boxing.”
Eubank is coming off an impressive seventh round stoppage over domestic rival Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan and will approach the 26th as the odds-on favourite. Blackwell will be planning on proving the bookmakers wrong.
– Richard Middleton / @1outsidetherope
Outside The Ropes 