British boxer Chris Eubank Jr refused to answer
a journalist who asked him to choose between
the British boxing title and Nick Blackwell's
health. Nick Blackwell is currently in a state of
coma after he was rushed to hospital following
severe bruises to the brain from boxer Chris
Eubank Jr's punches on Saturday night.
a journalist who asked him to choose between
the British boxing title and Nick Blackwell's
health. Nick Blackwell is currently in a state of
coma after he was rushed to hospital following
severe bruises to the brain from boxer Chris
Eubank Jr's punches on Saturday night.
Eubank Jnr and his father/manager, Chris
Eubank Snr, held a press conference on Tuesday
where Channel 4's Matt Frei asked Eubank Jnr:
'If you had the choice of having Nick
Blackwell in perfect health - he didn't
have to be in an induced coma - or
holding on to your belt, what would it
be?'
The boxer replied:
'That's not a fair question, I'm not going
to answer that. This is my life, I'm in
there to do a job. I don't wish any harm
on anybody outside the ring and I wish
him a full recovery.'
Frei, 52, had earlier riled Eubank Snr when he
asked:
'If it's about winning; is this advice you
gave to your son giving him mixed
messages; is it confusing?'
Eubank Snr replied: 'Your line of questioning is
not conducive to a good interview.'
Frei: 'Why?'
Eubank Snr: 'It just isn't; it's not going
anywhere. You're asking me...'
Frei: 'What's wrong with the line of questioning?'
Eubank Snr: 'It's unfair.'
Frei: 'Why is it unfair?'
Eubank Snr:
'The objective is to score your points. If
anything, this fight wasn't an exception
in that I gave him this advice, it's a rule
of thumb. If you don't need to land shots
to the head, then don't. It was a
command I gave him in telling him to go
to the body. I walked back and left him
to it and he has to make the decision.'
When Eubank Jnr was in the corner after the
eighth round at Wembley Arena, TV cameras
caught his father saying:
'If the referee doesn't stop it, then I don't
know what to tell you, but I will tell you
this: one, if he doesn't stop it and we
keep on beating him like this, he is
getting hurt; two, if it goes to a decision,
why didn't the referee stop the fight? I
don't get why.
So maybe you shouldn't leave it to the
referee. So you're not going to take him
out to the face, you're going to take him
out to the body.'
Chris Eubank Jr said, 'I'm glad the doctor
stopped the fight because the referee
wasn't going to. I was playing.
His father, whose fight against Michael Watson
in 1991 ended in with his opponent in a coma
and requiring six brain operations, added:
'Even in sparring, I tell Junior to stay
away from the head because his
punching is fast, powerful and
dangerous. So most certainly I was
saying this to protect the fighter. He had
the fight won. This is a dangerous sport
and we are real.'
No celebration by Team Eubank has
happened and will not happen until Nick
makes a full recovery, and I mean full
recovery.'
Source: DailyMail
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