Chris Eubank Jr. demolishes Avni Yildirim in World Boxing Super Series quarter-final
By John J. Raspanti
Brash super middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. stopped Turkish challenger Avni Yildirim with an explosive display of firepower at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle arena in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday night.
The end came 2 minutes and 15 seconds into round three. The win earned Eubank a spot in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series against the winner of next week’s match-up between George Groves and Jamie Cox.
Yildirim (16-1, 10 KOs) came right at Eubank in the opening stanza. The much quicker Eubank (26-1, 20 KOs) circled and used his jab. He also fired a few uppercuts to keep Yildirim honest. One of them sent Yildirim to his knees for a few seconds. Yildirim, nicknamed “Mr. Robot” got up quickly and pursued Eubank for the remainder of the round.
Eubank moved his attack to the body in round two. Yildirim opened up a little, but Eubank easily blocked most of the blows with his elbows. Eubank came out firing in round three. He had predicted last week that the match wouldn’t last six rounds. He stood his ground and unloaded a number of combinations.
Yildirim took the shots and advanced forward. He landed a chopping right hand to Eubank’s chin. Eubank, acting as if he was annoyed that Yildirim had actually hit him, unleashed a number of shots - punctuated by a perfect left hook that send Yildirim crumbling to the canvas. The referee took one look at the prone boxer and waved off the contest.
“I want to dominate this tournament,” said Eubank. “George Groves, get through your next opponent, so we can fight in January.”
A bout between Eubank and Groves would be compelling. Groves can box and has power in both hands. Eubanks is the better athlete and has an edge in hand-speed.
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