Ray Close Eammon Loughran and Sam Storey. In his seventh bout he beat Rocky McGran to win the vacant Irish Super Middleweight title. He successfully defended the title against Terry Magee, the older brother of Eamonn and Noel, in Dublin in 1991. In 1993, he defeated Vincenzo Nardiello to win the EBU European Super Middleweight title in Italy. Later the same year Close faced Chris Eubank for the WBO Super Middleweight title. In what would be the first of his two fights against Eubank, the match was declared a draw. After an October win against Ray Domenge, Close again faced Eubank in
Chris Eubank Jr. arena. The fight was not officially signed as Warren was waiting for Eubank to sign the contract. Warren gave Eubank until 5pm on 25 September. On 3 October the fight was confirmed, but would take place on 29 November instead and would also be a WBO final eliminator. Eubank fought at the Echo Arena on 25 October in a scheduled 8 round fight. Eubank knocked out German boxer Omar Siala in round 2 after a right uppercut. Eubank lost his unbeaten record when he lost a split decision to Saunders. The bout went the distance, with the experienced Saunders controlling