By: Hans Themistode
Chris Eubank Jr. simply isn’t falling for it.
The 160-pound contender took a comfortable seat in his palatial estate to watch long-time rival Billy Joe Saunders, take on pound for pound star, Canelo Alvarez. The two went toe to toe on May 8th, at the AT&T Stadium, in Arlington Texas. At stake, was three of the four major world titles at 168 pounds.
During the first half of their showdown, Saunders appeared to have several moments of success. The elusive British native tagged Alvarez several times over and evaded numerous big shots that were hurled in his direction. Unfortunately for Saunders, however, his defensive ability failed him when it mattered most.
In the waning seconds of the eighth round, Saunders attempted to avoid a looping right hand of Alvarez. As the 32-year-old ducked low, Alvarez fired off a picture-perfect right uppercut. The moment it landed, Saunders knew immediately that something wasn’t right. The former two-division titlist winced in pain and held onto Alvarez until the sound of the bell.
A visibly bothered Saunders slumped onto his stool, as his cornermen attempted to reopen his right eye. Try as they did, they were unsuccessful in their efforts. With Saunders essentially left with one good eye, his corner pulled him from the match.
Shortly after his defeat, it was revealed that Saunders had suffered a shattered orbital bone and eye socket. But while many around the boxing world has shown sympathy towards him, Eubank Jr. is the exact opposite. In his opinion, Saunders made up the entire injury.
“There is no recovery,” said Eubank Jr. during an interview with IFL TV. “The guy is perfectly fine, he quit, got a black eye, he didn’t want it anymore with Canelo. There was no smashed orbital bone, no broken eye socket. He swallowed it and gave up. That’s why he’s been mia (missing in action) the past few months cause of the shame of what he did.”
Despite Eubank Jr.’s claims, according to multiple reports, Saunders’ injury was as legit as they come. Not only is Saunders said to have undergone successful surgery, but the former two-division titlist is now mulling over retirement.
Regardless of what Saunders asserts, however, Eubank Jr. won’t allow him to pull the wool over his eyes.
“If that was the truth, there would’ve been doctors’ reports, pictures. The guy was driving around in his car a week later with sunglasses on. We’re not sheep. No, he quit.”