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Chris Eubank Jr. issues bizarre press release about putting his opponent in a coma

Chris Eubank Jr. has vacated his British Middleweight Boxing Championship title, however the acco...



Chris Eubank Jr. issues bizarr...
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Chris Eubank Jr. issues bizarre press release about putting his opponent in a coma

Chris Eubank Jr. has vacated his British Middleweight Boxing Championship title, however the accompanying press release for that announced his decision to do so was a rather strange one. 

In the statement released by his team detailing why he had to pull out of his defence against Tommy Langford and subsequently decided to vacate his title, they stated that Euabnk Jr. "suffered a severe injury sparring against a 14-stone opponent two days ago."

Adding that he was formally vacating the title, and had already informed the British Boxing Board of Control, they stated that they took the decision to vacate as they "have to allow the remaining contenders the ability to earn a living and, more importantly, prevent the promoter incurring any further costs [as] this was the highest purse bid they had secured."

The press release also claims that, in the opinion of Team Eubank, "there has not been a fighter in the history of British Boxing who has had such a vast chasm of fighting prowess between him and the contenders for the British Championship in ability, speed , strength, accuracy and skill since its inauguration by the Marquess of Queensbury in the 1800's [sic]."

At that point, things get even more strange, as the statement claims that Euabnk Jr's inability to compete may be a "blessing in disguise" for the other fighters in the division, given what happened to Nick Blackwell.

Blackwell and Eubank met in the ring in March of this year, after which he was put into an induced coma after sustaining head injuries which caused swelling on the brain. Blackwell had to retire from fighting, and has harshly criticised both Eubank Jr. and his father for the way they spoke about the incident in the media afterwards

This press release is unlikely to ease the tensions either, as they wrote:

"When winning the challenge for British Championship, Chris Eubank Snr had to advise him to leave his opponent's head alone as he was taking far too much punishment and the referee didn't see what was clear to the former world champion.

"Chris Eubank Jnr was advised to go to the body because of his father's past participation in the great game. If you can disrupt your opponent's breathing, you can effectively stop him quicker than to the head. There is strategic and tactical knowledge in the advice as well as compassion because the body can recover where the head does not always recover.

"The opponent was subsequently put into an induced coma as a result of the punishment he was made to sustain.

"It is now with relief, as it has become clear to Chris Eubank Jnr's management over these past few months how much danger the health and lives of these contenders are in, therefore the relinquishing of the British Championship due to injury sustained in a sparring session is perhaps a blessing in disguise."

Adding that Eubank Snr. had also "hospitalised men," and was therefore "cognisant of what those outside of the ring are not," that the team "will use the injury as an opportunity to step aside and fight high calibre world competition in the coming future."

The move comes in the wake of further controversy from the Eubank camp after he challenged Gennady Golovkin to "come get some" after his fight with Kell Brook came to an end when his corner threw in the towel.

Speaking about Eubank pulling out of the fight, promoter Frank Warren described Eubank's behaviour as "disgusting," adding that he was "vacating the title for the most absurd reasons. You've read the press statement, God knows what they were smoking when they were writing that rubbish."

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