Chris Eubank Jr. the deciding factor as Saunders was victorious, a 115-114, 115-113 and 113-116 winner. On 30 December 2014, Frank Warren announced that Eubank would fight undefeated Russian boxer and WBA interim middleweight champion Dmitry Chudinov (14-0-2, 9 KOs) 28 February 2015 at the O2 Arena in London on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Christian Hammer. Eubank scored a 12th-round TKO win over Chudinov and Eubank's efforts earned him the WBA interim middleweight title. At the time of stoppage, Eubank was ahead on all three judges scorecards 106-103, 108-101, 107-102. In round 2, an accidental clash of heads caused a cut
World Boxing Organization champions Michael Moorer, Riddick Bowe, and Henry Akinwande relinquishing the title to pursue other options. Boxing publication "The Ring" also did not recognize the WBO, despite having recognized the IBF after its inception in 1983, five years prior to the WBO. In the lighter weight divisions, however, long-reigning champions during the 1990s such as Chris Eubank, Dariusz Michalczewski, Johnny Tapia, and Naseem Hamed gave the WBO title increasingly more prestige. The WBO was also made popular by boxers such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya, Nigel Benn, Ronald "Winky" Wright, Joe Calzaghe, and Wladimir Klitschko, all of whom