Chris Eubank Sr told his son to aim for body NOT head of injured opponent Nick Blackwell who is now in induced coma. It is nearly 25 years since boxer Chris Eubank left a fellow fighter, desperately ill after a bout that led to calls for a ban on the sport. Yesterday he was hailed a hero for his intervention in a similarly brutal battle, in which his son Chris Eubank Jr injured an opponent so badly, he had to be put in an induced coma. Nick Blackwell, who suffered bleeding to the brain, was carried out of Wembley Arena on a stretcher, and taken to hospital, where he remained under observation yesterday. Eubank Sr had been at the ringside on Saturday and may have saved Blackwell’s life, by urging his son to punch his opponent’s body, rather than his face, over the last two rounds after telling him the referee should have ended the contest. He also banged on the canvas floor of the ring, in an attempt to get referee Victor Loughlin to call off the fight. The contest was finally stopped in the tenth round, after the ringside doctor advised the referee, that defending champion Blackwell, was unable to see through his left eye, and Eubank Jr took the British middleweight title. Amid widespread concern about the potential dangers of boxing, there was also praise for Eubank Sr. One Twitter user said: ‘Chris Eubank Sr may well have saved Nick Blackwell’s life last night. Class act.’ The retired boxer’s later career was blighted by the memory of the night in Tottenham, North London, in 1991 when he left Michael Watson in a 40-day coma. Brain-damaged Watson survived but has been severely disabled ever since. On Saturday night Eubank Jr was well ahead at the end of the eighth round, when his father climbed into the ring to offer advice. TV cameras caught him telling his son: ‘If the referee doesn’t stop it, then I don’t know what to tell you, but I will tell you this: one, if he doesn’t stop it and we keep on beating him like this, he is getting hurt; two, if it goes to a decision, why didn’t the referee stop the fight? I don’t get why. So maybe you shouldn’t leave it to the referee. So you’re not going to take him out to the face, you’re going to take him out to the body.’ Eubank’s punches became less frequent in the last two rounds, and many boxing fans on Twitter suggested Eubank Sr’s advice to his son saved Blackwell’s life. Soon after the fight was stopped, Blackwell, from Wiltshire, who had a nose bleed, suddenly fell to the ring floor. He received medical attention immediately. British Boxing Board of Control general secretary Robert Smith said yesterday: ‘He’s in intensive care, he’s in an induced coma and he is resting and being looked after. ‘It’s a very normal procedure. They put you in a coma to get the swelling to go down. There’s no time scale. Now it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing.’ Eubank Jr, from Brighton, said after the fight: ‘I hit him with some big shots, maybe the referee should have stopped the fight earlier. I have respect for anyone who steps in the ring. It’s sad that he had to leave on a stretcher.’

• published: 28 Mar 2016
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