Chris Eubank Jr overpowers Gary O'Sullivan as Luke Campbell suffers first loss

12 December 2015 10:47

Chris Eubank Jr won the final eliminator for Daniel Jacobs' WBA middleweight title after overpowering tough Irishman Gary O'Sullivan in seven rounds at The O2.

An action-packed fight concluded after the seventh when O'Sullivan's corner withdrew him from the contest with the 31-year-old from Cork fading before Eubank's onslaught.

Eubank, watched by his father Chris at ringside, looked set for an early stoppage when he repeatedly landed with the right uppercut in the second, but O'Sullivan showed resilience to survive a one-sided round.

By the third O'Sullivan had rallied, however, and Eubank wobbled when he was struck by a right as a thrilling three minutes ebbed and flowed.

The sixth began with a wild slugfest as Eubank went in search of the knockout amid cries of 'Eubank, Eubank', but remarkably O'Sullivan remained standing, despite having taken some of his best shots.

The seventh was the quietest round yet, but the damage had already been done and O'Sullivan was withdrawn.

"It's very satisfying to now have the chance to fight for the WBA title. Gary's got a chin, I'll give him that," Eubank Jr said.

Olympic champion Luke Campbell slumped to his first professional defeat after falling to Yvan Mendy in a split decision.

Campbell, who had stopped his last six opponents, was knocked down in the fifth round and was outfought throughout by the Frenchman with the judges returning scorecards of 115-113 113-115 115-113.

Mendy had lost four times in 38 bouts and was expected to endure the same fate as each of Campbell's 12 previous victims, but instead claimed his most notable victory to date.

"There are no excuses. That's the first time I've done 12 rounds in my career. I feel as though I made a few mistakes in there," said Campbell, who was floored for the first time in his career.

A second British lightweight tasted defeat when Dagenham's Kevin Mitchell crashed to a second successive loss after being stopped in the fifth by unbeaten Ismael Barroso of Venezuela.

Mitchell was dumped on the canvas by a southpaw jab and, although he rose to his feet, Barroso swarmed over him with a barrage of punches until the fight was waved off with 13 seconds of the round remaining.

Barroso will now face Anthony Crolla for his WBA crown, while Mitchell's fourth defeat in 43 outings will surely ends his dream of ever challenging for a world title.

Tony Bellew was crowned European cruiserweight champion with a unanimous points victory over rugged Pole Mateusz Masternak.

Bellew, who was fighting for the first time since completing filming for the new Rocky film 'Creed', finished with a flourish after battering Masternak in the 12th and was awarded a 115-113 115-112 decision.

Source: PA