Eubank Sr says he feared for Blackwell

Eubank Jr won with a TKO after the fight was stopped in the tenth round

Chris Eubank says he told his son to avoid punching Nick Blackwell in the head to protect the stricken boxer.

Blackwell, 25, is in an induced coma after losing his British middleweight title to Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday.

Between rounds eight and nine, Eubank was heard urging his son to punch Blackwell’s body rather than his face.

“Even in sparring, I tell Junior to stay away from the head because his punching is fast, powerful and dangerous,” said Eubank.

“So most certainly I was saying this to protect the fighter.”

Blackwell was taken from the ring on a stretcher, while receiving oxygen, and later placed in an induced coma.

The British Board of Boxing Control said it was satisfied with how the bout was handled, after suggestions from Eubank Jr’s camp and some pundits that the fight should have been stopped sooner.

Michael Watson, who suffered brain damage after a 1991 fight with Chris Eubank Sr, told the Daily Telegraph he had experienced “a real sense of deja vu”.

Watson, 51, spent 40 days in a coma and had six brain operations, leaving him with irreparable brain damage and partially paralysed.

Chris Eubank Sr (right) concerned about Blackwell’s swelling to the head told his son to aim punches to the body

During the 10th round referee Victor Loughlin summoned the doctor to ringside to look at the swelling to Blackwell’s head

Eubank Jr has lost just one of his 23 professional fights

Chris Eubank Sr (left) won both fights against Michael Watson in 1991

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Eubank Sr says he feared for Blackwell
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