Frank Warren Article on Saunders V Eubank

Frank Warren's Column - 06.12.2014

BILLY JOE SAUNDERS has fulfilled what I have believed since I first signed him after the Beijing Olympics, being one of the most talented young prospects in the land - that he would make history by becoming the first Romany to win a prized Lonsdale Belt outright.

Now, after retaining his European and Commonwealth middleweight titles in that humdinger of a scrap with Chris Eubank Jr, he can go on to complete a remarkable ring double by being the first from Britain's fight-loving Travelling community to win a world title.

I was delighted with his performance against his final remaining domestic rival at the ExCel last weekend. He showed that not only does he have grit, resilience and a great chin, but he can dig deep when it matters. And that's what makes champions. He can now go on to face the elite fighters in the division with confidence - and he is certainly not short of that.

Another amazing statistic I'm sure no fighter in the world has achieved recently is that his win over Eubank Jr was the fourth fight running in which the Hatfield southpaw beat a previously undefeated opponent. The combined records of Eubank Jr, Emanuele Blandamura, John Ryder and Gary O'Sullivan were a staggering 71-0 before they met Saunders.

Saunders is now the mandatory challenger for the winner of next month's WBO title fight between Russian Matt Korobov and Irishman Andy Lee. He should get his shot in March or April.

But what about Eubank Jr? Where does he go from here? It is a question I have been asked many times this week and my answer is simple: onwards and upwards.

The boy is a terrific talent, but in boxing terms he needs to grow into a man. His own man. By that I mean he must step out of the all-enveloping shadow of his father, a great world champion he so closely resembles in his style, stance and mannerisms. He also has his dad's arrogance, heart and bottle. But he hasn't yet got Chris Sr's skill and strategic nous. And I am not sure that Brighton's erstwhile Lord of the Manor is the one to impart them.

That job is best left to the man who has trained them both. Yet on Saturday night, though nominally chief second, Ronnie Davies was virtually a bystander, as posing pater, eccentrically clad as always and looking more out of Tatler than a working cornerman, hovered around them.

Young Eubank's own genetic pomposity also needs to be pricked. He had said beforehand that he actually didn't need a trainer and that Davies was simply there 'to apply the Vaseline'.

At one stage he even snapped at him to 'shut up'. Meantime his father looked on imperiously, issuing the occasional word of advice and staring at him with paternal concern.

I really don't get this dad thing - and I doubt the son needs it. The bottom line is that any boxer only requires one person in the corner giving instructions and that is the one who works with him on a daily basis - the trainer, the one who is reading the fight.

The Eubanks have got to sort out their relationship. At the moment the Eubank show seems more about Chris senior than junior.

It was Eubank Sr who pressed me to make this fight, which turned out to be the humdinger we all anticipated. But I always believed it was a year too soon for his son.

Young Chris told me afterwards he thought he had won the oddly split decision. He's entitled to his opinion but most watching knew he hadn't.

I always felt Billy Joe would have too much know-how. But it wasn't a bad performance by Eubank who probably did win four of the final six rounds after Billy Joe had steamed ahead.

It augurs well for him in the future, where I see him and Saunders having an enduring rivalry - once Chris Sr is persuaded to stop shadow boxing with his lad.

***

I will be doing my utmost to give him home advantage, as I will Tyson Fury who, as the new British and European champion, is now officially the leading contender for Wladimir Klitschko's heavyweight belt

As Dereck Chisora's manager I told trainer Don Charles to pull him out at the end of the tenth round as he was being comprehensively and painfully outclassed by just shuffling forward in a straight line.

In doing so he suffered severe damage around the eyes from the right jab Fury used so effectively after switching to southpaw - an intelligent move.

Chisora now has to see an eye specialist and must decide whether to fight on. If he does, it will be a hard climb back.

Fury showed he has a great boxing brain. But is he smart enough to topple Klitschko? What I do believe is that he can give him a hell of a fight. At 6ft 9in he is an even bigger giant than Klitschko, who can be vulnerable. If you catch him clean, he'll go over. But the big question is whether Fury or any other current heavyweight has the wherewithal to do it.

***

I hold my hands up. Those fans who missed their transport home after the late running of Saturday's blockbuster show at the ExCel are owed an apology. And I make one here, as well as for some ticketing issues which were not of our making. But the buck stops with me.

The situation which saw fights go on into the early hours, overrunning by some 70 minutes, was regrettable. We are dealing with it and it won't happen again. I agree it was a totally unsatisfactory not only for the punters but those newspapers who missed their deadlines because the main event started after midnight.

We had a sell-out crowd of 18,500 and up to now we've probably had about 50 complaints. Most people there agreed that overall it was a fantastic night.

One could argue that these things happen in sport and that it was a cracking bill with a dozen value-for-money bouts, maybe too many. But it was Sod's Law that that they nearly all went the distance, which is unusual.

There was a similar late finish situation with the Sky Liverpool bill the week before. But what we have decided with BoxNation is that in future the main event will go on no later than 11pm with the chief support an hour earlier. This will apply from our next major promotion on 28 February.

The only exception has to be when fights are being shown live on TV in the United States because of the time difference, but these will be well publicised in advance.

***

Live, big fight action on BoxNation tomorrow night comes from Quebec, Canada, with national favourite Jean Pascal facing Roberto Feliciano Bolonti in a twelve round light-heavyweight showdown.

It's a crucial fight for Pascal because a win against Bolonti will see him face division sensation Sergey Kovalev, who defeated legend Bernard Hopkins last month on BoxNation, with the WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line next March.

http://www.boxnation.com/boxing-news...lumn-06122014/

I think that's a pretty fair appraisal from frank on most counts.