By Jared Parry
A packed out Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff witnessed Chris Eubank Jr. get his hand raised after 12 rounds defeating a tough Liam Williams, dropping the Welshman four times on the way to a unanimous decision victory.
The first round started as a cagey affair, with the Welsh crowd in full voice backing Williams. But, in the final minute of the round Eubank Jr. caught Williams with a lightning fast counter-punch that sank Williams to the canvas, silencing the crowd. Williams was on bendy legs for the remainder of the round but survived.
The Welsh fighter was seated again in round two when Eubank Jr. connected with a flurry of punches, but yet again, Williams bravely fought on.
After a quiet third round, Eubank Jr. dropped Williams again, and to start showboating and inviting Williams in to hit him. Williams began to grow into the fight in the second half, and was landing clean shots on Eubank Jr.
Williams won every round from round six to round ten with fired up the Welsh crowd who believed Williams could claw this back. However, in the 11th round, Williams got tangled up in his own feet and bundled over, many thought this was a slip, but referee Mark Lyson controversially ruled it a knockdown.
Going into the final round, everyone knew that Williams needed a knockout to win this fight. Eubank Jr. spent the last round dancing around the perimeter of the ring letting a jab go here and there. In the final minute, Eubank Jr. dropped his gloves and began to do an Ali Shuffle as Williams just put his hands on his hips and watched on, then came the final bell.
Eubank Jr. and Williams did not embrace after the fight, and the judges scored the bout all in favour of Eubank Jr.
The chief support fight saw Unified women’s world middleweight champion Claressa Shields retain her titles in a ruthless shut out points victory over the valiant Ema Kozin.
Shields won every round and many believed Kozin’s corner should have stopped the fight earlier as she was getting caught with ease and showed little chance of getting back into the fight.
As a professional, Shields is undefeated with a record of 12-0, and Shields as an amateur had a stellar career and only ever lost once. That loss came against the current WBO middleweight champion (the only belt eluding Shields from being undisputed champion), Savhannah Marshall.
Marshall happened to be ringside and following the fight, approached Shields claiming “If Claressa fights like that against me, I’ll wipe the floor with her!” The pair then embroiled in a heated war of words which has built anticipation for this dream fight to happen.
The rest of the card saw Sam Antwi survive an all out war with Conah Walker to retain his English welterweight title. Rhys Edwards extending his undefeated record with a comprehensive points win over Ruslan Berchuk.
Chris Jenkins got back to winning ways with a points win over former world champion Julius Indongo. Harlem Eubank forced Viorel Simion to retire on his stool after the sixth round of their clash. Caroline Dubois kicked off her professional career with a solid win over Vaida Masiokaite. Shane Gill defeating the heavyweight prospect Steve Robinson on points was the only big upset of the evening. Finally, Otto Wallin banked some valuable rounds as he defeated Kamil Sokolowski via a points decision.