By Tim Parsons-
Chris Eubank Jnr has relinquished his middleweight title, after suffering an elbow injury during a sparring session whilst preparing for his second title defence against Tommy Langford,originally scheduled for October 22.
The title fight has now been postponed, and due to be rescheduled.
A statement for Eubank Jr’s management was broad in content, first stating that he was relieved to relinquish the title due to the danger he posed to other contenders. He also called the injury ”a blessing in disguise” the statement for Eubank Jnr’s management read: “Chris Eubank Jnr suffered a severe injury sparring against a 14 stone opponent two days ago. The injury was assessed and confirmed by a doctor on Friday 16th September, who works with the British Boxing Board of Control.
“The severe injury to Chris Jnr’s elbow follows an ongoing injury which has been a recurring issue for the last 18 months. This allows Chris Eubank Jnr, and his management, the opportunity to relinquish the title which provides all contenders the right to earn a living and fight amongst their equal caliber of competitors.”
It seems strange that team Eubank easily gave up the title because of an injury, citing the opportunity to allow other contenders the right to earn a living. The usual expectation is for an injured fighter to strive for a postponed date, whilst doing all in their power to retain their title. A world title belt is a coveted prize with both monetary and respect values attached to do.
There will surely be speculations that the son of legendary world champion, Chris Eubank, might be dodging the fight, though in the absence of concrete evidence this may just be speculation. However, it really is odd why Eubank Jnr would bin his title, rather than fight to keep it. Only if he had good reason to believe he would be stripped of it, would his actions make sense. Langford was a mandatory opponent, making it compulsory that Eubank faces him for his second defence. However, injury is normally a reasonable excuse to postpone a fight without having to relinquish a title belt.
Despite the plan for a new date to be rescheduled, skeptics believe the fight will not happen, and many now expect the British Board of control to appoint another contender to fight for the vacant title.
Chris Eubank jnr turns 27 tomorrow, Sunday, and won the title with a 10th-round technical knockout over Nick Blackwell in March before successfully defending against Tom Doran in June.
Langford accused Eubank Jnr of pulling out of the fight without a sufficiently good reason, writing on Twitter: “extremely disappointed with @ChrisEubankJr time waster! Total disrespect to the sport.Looking 4 a way out as soon as I was mandated!