Chris Eubank – to a draw. Don King had negotiated the contracts so that he would own both the winner and the loser of Eubank v Benn 2. Barry Hearn claimed that, as a draw was not written into the contract, Eubank was free to sign a new deal with him instead of King. He did – and Benn also did not sign for King, on the same pretext. Following the Benn fight, Eubank went on to defeat Graciano Rocchigiani of Germany, the undefeated former IBF super-middleweight title holder. After a split points victory over Ray Close, in the King's Hall Belfast,
Chris Eubank Jr. the first six rounds with his footwork, elusive style and technical boxing ability, as Eubank was mostly inactive, with many speculating to him being over cautious due to nervousness and 'stage fright' as it was his first major title bout of his professional career. Regardless, from round seven onward Eubank took control with a much higher punch output, this resulted in the two young boxers brawling and trading hard shots for the rest of the fight. In the twelfth round, Eubank came out gunning for the knockout but was unable to get it. The early inactivity turned out to be