A badly cut, bloodied Jack Catterall (31-2, 13 KOs) outpointed previously unbeaten contender Harlem Eubank (21-1, 9 KOs) via technical decision at the start of the seventh round of their all-British battle at Manchester’s AO Arena, live on DAZN.

Catterall, 31, was awarded the decision with scores of 69-65, 69-66, 69-66, bestowing him with Eubank’s IBF Inter-Continental welterweight title. He also picked up the WBA International belt in his welterweight debut.

Local hero Catterall delivered a typically cautious performance, controlling the bout from behind his awkward southpaw stance, but neither fighter was willing to take unnecessary risks early on.

The domestic rivals came together and clashed heads in the sixth round, both sustaining cuts, but Catterall’s – above the right eye – was visibly worse.

After being examined by the ringside doctor at the end of the round, for a very long inspection, Catterall was given the go ahead to continue.

However, at the very start of the seventh, referee Bob Williams spoke to another doctor on Harlem’s side and waved the fight off, disappointingly sending the short contest to the scorecards.

“The fight was going how I expected it to go. I was breaking him down,” said the Chorley champion Catterall. “It’s not the way I wanted to win.”

Catterall expressed relief at returning to winning ways after narrowly losing to unbeaten American Arnold Barboza Jr earlier this year – a defeat that cost him a shot at a super-lightweight world title.

Brighton’s Eubank, the nephew of British boxing legend Chris Eubank Sr, suffered the first defeat of his professional career in his 22nd bout. The 31-year-old immediately called for a rematch, claiming he was on track for a “spectacular stoppage victory”.

Afterwards, promoter Eddie Hearn instantly dismissed talk of a rematch and said Catterall would be manoeuvred back into world title contention.


On the undercard, former IBF super-featherweight champion Joe Cordina returned from a 14-month lay-off with a hard-fought points win over Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz to claim the vacant WBO global lightweight title.

Ex-WBC featherweight world champion Skye Nicolson, 29, stopped Bolivia’s Carla Camila Campos Gonzales in the second round of their super-bantamweight bout, and Manchester cruiserweight Pat Brown extended his perfect professional record with a dominant first-round stoppage of Lewis Oakford.

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