Catterall vs Eubank Ends Prematurely; Catterall Wins a Technical Decision

In a fight that was rather tame in conformity with pre-fight expectations, yet ended in a bloodbath, Jack Catterall won a technical decision over British countryman Harlem Eubank. Their bout tonight on a Matchroom/DAZN card in Manchester went to the scorecards following a clash of heads in round six that left both combatants with severe facial cuts; Catterall above his left eye and Eubank above his right.

Catterall had proved to be a solid technician while running up a record of 30-2 (13). In his previous fight, he lost a close decision to SoCal’s Arnold Barboza Jr, ending a 4-fight winning streak at 140 that included a revenge win over Josh Taylor and a wide decision over Regis Prograis in a match contested here in Manchester. Harlem Eubank, the cousin of Chris Eubank Jr, brought an undefeated record (21-0, 9 KOs) but was moving up in class. Catterall was a consensus 3/1 favorite in this welterweight contest.

Catterall proved to be the more polished fighter. He was plainly ahead before the blood flowed. Catterall’s cut opened up first and was seemingly more severe, but by all indications the bout was stopped on the recommendation of the doctor assigned to Eubank’s corner. Ring announcer David Diamante announced the scores as 69-65, 69-66, and 69-66, numbers incompatible with the number of rounds that were fought.

Semi Wind-Up

Welsh lightweight Joe Cordina, in his first outing since last May when he was stopped in the eighth round by late bloomer Anthony Cacace, ending his reign as a130-pound world titlist, returned at 135 and scored a wide 10-round decision over Mexican import Jaret Gonzalez. The scores were 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92. This was a messy fight that heated up in round five before settling back into more of a tactical fight.

Cordina, 18-1 (9) is eyeing the winner of the forthcoming title fight between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes. Monterrey’s Gonzalez, 24, brought a 17-1 record but had scored only four wins over opponents with winning records.

Other Bouts of Note

In a match that wasn’t part of the main card. Australian southpaw Skye Nicolson (13-1, 2 KOs) rebounded from her first defeat with a second-round stoppage of Bolivia’s Carla Camila Campos (9-4)

In her previous bout, Nicolson was upset by Florida’s Tiara Brown in Sydney, losing her WBC world featherweight title. She dropped down to 122 for this match. Campos was on her feet but plainly out-gunned when referee John Latham waived it off. The official time was 1:21 of round two.

In a 10-round lightweight match between two feather-fisted Lancashiremen with identical records, Aqib Fiaz (14-1) came on strong to upend Alex Murphy (13-2), winning a unanimous decision. The scores were 97-93, 96-94, and 96-95.

Eddie Hearn’s newest heavyweight signee, York’s Leo Atang, 18, won his pro debut, dismissing 41-year-old Bulgarian slug Milen Paunov (7-16) with body punches in the opening round.

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