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Chris Eubank Jr (19-1, 14 KOs) cruised to victory with a second round knockout of Tony Jeter (20-4-1, 14 KOs), retaining his interim WBA world middleweight belt in a complete mismatch at the Sheffield Arena.
In his first Matchroom bout, Eubank Jr headlined the card after Kell Brook’s world title fight with Diego Chaves was postponed due to a rib injury the IBF welterweight champ sustained in sparring.
It was the enigmatic Eubank Jr, who following in the footsteps of his distinguished dad Chris Eubank, mimicked his acclaimed style, stalking an apprehensive Jeter.
A double left hook to the temple sent Jeter to the canvas late in in round one, and a furious combination from Eubank Jr forced referee Howard Foster to step in 30 seconds into round two.
Untested and unfazed, he followed it up with the typical Eubank steely stare, to a chorus of boos, more so for the lack of action.
It sets up a sterner test with Irishman Gary O’Sullivan on December 12th, with the winner earning mandatory status for the WBA belt that Peter Quillin and Daniel Jacobs will contest for a week earlier.
The colorful characters have already been engaging in a bitter war of words over twitter in recent weeks, and a mutual dislike should create some fireworks come fight night.
In a more keenly contested affair, Super Bantamweight Gavin Mcdonnell (13-0-2, 4 KOs) put in a career best performance over Jeremy Parodi (37-2-1, 9 KOs) to score a 12-round decision.
Sporting a height and reach advantage, Mcdonnell was content in boxing off the back foot, whilst an animated Parodi ploughed forward.
A lack of power in Mcdonnell’s armory meant it was billed as a tough night’s work against the busy Frenchman.
But apparent changes under new trainer David Caldwell were telling as superior movement from the Doncaster fighter produced greater work, securing scores of 117-111,117-11 and 118-110 in the first defense of his EBU title.
Leigh Wood (15-1, 8 KOs) kicked off Sky Sports’ coverage outclassing Josh Wale (18-7-2, 10 KOs) over 10 rounds in their British featherweight title eliminator.
Utilizing superior head and foot movement, Wood moved out of range effectively, nullifying a one-paced Wale who was unable to sustain any defining attacks to discourage the Nottingham fighter.
Scores of 99-91, 99-9, and 98-92 means Wood earns his second shot at a British belt against Ryan Walsh, and will be aiming to better his last attempt when he fell to Gavin McDonnell in six rounds at Super Bantamweight in 2014.
#ICYMI Eubank stops Jeter in 2 #Boxing pic.twitter.com/olJqDGuwVu
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) October 25, 2015
