UNDAUNTED

Reporters’ star ratings for main events and undercards are based on in-ring entertainment, competitiveness and whether overall expectation was met

CARDIFF

FEBRUARY 12

THE fight lasted 12 rounds, full of fury and spite, just as Liam Williams and Chris Eubank Jnr had promised it would be. But the moment that settled their battle came in a flash. Williams opened the first round brightly, bounding forward after Eubank, harrying him with jabs. But just when it looked like the Welshman would take the first round, he stepped fully on to a lead left. The shot looked innocuous, Eubank almost shrugging it out from his hip and stabbing it into Williams’ chin. But it popped Liam off his feet. The Welshman looked stunned for an instant, the crowd surprised. It had hurt him though. He rose uneasily. It was clear then that Eubank could hurt him at any time.

Williams, from Clydach Vale, had been roared into the Motorpoint arena with deafening support. But Eubank was undaunted at that hostility. If anything he fed off it, taking the atmosphere in as he looked over the crowd before vaulting into the ring. He seemed almost too relaxed to start off, moving away from Liam’s jabbing with his hands low and arms loose.

If the first round knockdown he inflicted on Williams came as a shock, in the second round the Brighton star showed it was no fluke.