LONDON (22 FEBRUARY) British middleweight champion Nick ‘Bang Bang’ Blackwell has blasted Chris Eubank Jr. for posting on social media footage of himself knocking out a young sparring partner last week.
The short video sparked heated debate and some condemnation when uploaded to Eubank Jr.’s social media accounts and Blackwell – who faces Eubank Jr. on March 26 at The SSE Arena – has branded his upcoming opponent a ‘bad role model’.
“He put a video up on social media, for the whole world to see, of him knocking out a kid who hasn’t even had a pro fight and it’s disgusting,” said Blackwell. “The amateur kid is building his confidence and trying to learn from a so-called professional, but somehow Eubank Jr. takes pride in exploiting him like that.
“I’ve put more than one world champion down in the gym over the years but I don’t go around bragging about it. And the idea of filming it and putting up a clip on social media is just embarrassing.
“I think Eubank Jr. is so disrespectful. He should be ashamed of himself.
“But this is the sort of thing the Eubanks do. They like to be controversial, they like to get people talking, and they don’t care what anyone thinks of them. They’ve also got nobody around them brave enough to pull them up on any of it.”
Blackwell would like to think Eubank Jr.’s sole reason for posting the video was to try and intimidate him ahead of their hotly-anticipated March 26 showdown.
“I don’t follow what Eubank Jr. does,” Blackwell said. “I don’t follow him on Snapchat, I don’t follow him on Twitter, I don’t follow him on Facebook and I don’t follow him on Instagram. I’m not focusing on what he’s doing. He could post a clip of himself knocking out (Gennady) Golovkin and it wouldn’t bother me. I still know I’ll beat him up on March 26.
“People have said to me Eubank Jr. doesn’t look like he’s training very hard for this fight, and that he’s just sparring novices, but I know he wouldn’t be so stupid to do that. He knows this is the hardest fight of his life.”
For Blackwell, it has become the most personal fight of his life – the one he wants to win more than any other, the one that means more than any other.
“I had a lot of respect for John Ryder, Damon Jones and Jack Arnfield, my last three opponents, and that’s why there was no animosity between us in the build-up,” he said. “But I’ve got no time for Eubank Jr.
“I don’t think he’s good for boxing in any way, shape or form. He’s arrogant, he’s a bad role model and he gives the general public a perception that all boxers are money-hungry bullies.
“I actually thought he was all right when we sparred, but his ego has gone way out of control and he’s in danger of losing a grip on reality. He’s a nasty piece of work and people are realising that now. He needs to be brought back down to earth.”
*** Tickets for the British middleweight title blockbuster between Nick ‘Bang Bang’ Blackwell and Chris Eubank Jr. are on sale now!
Tickets are priced at £35, £50, £75, £175, £200 and £250 for ringside and can be purchased online at ssearena.co.uk and axs.com or by phoning the SSE Arena, Wembley Box Office on 0844 815 0815 ***
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