Billy Joe Saunders said he would retire if Chris Eubank Jnr beat him on Saturday night at the Excel Arena. I wonder what Saunders was thinking when Phil Edwards score of 116-113 Eubank was read out following the announcement of a split decision. It must have crossed his mind that the old Eubank curse of winning close fights was going to carry on to Jnr but thankfully the two other judges Marcus McDonnell (115-114) and Terry O’Connor (115-113) scored the fight for Saunders with the vast majority agreeing he was the deserved victor.

The fight played out as many expected. Saunders the more experienced fighter started better using a southpaw jab that messed up Eubank’s ability to get his feet right for any concerted attack. Beforehand the general feeling was that Saunders was at least 18 months ahead of Eubank in terms of development. Being the British, Commonwealth and European champion evidenced this sentiment, but the fact Saunders wanted this fight so badly – with a shot at the WBO title on the horizon – must be hugely respected.

Read all the action as it happened from the huge Bad Blood show at London’s ExCel

Eubank Jnr’s ability at title level was unknown. He and his father had talked their way into this fight with some outlandish claims and demands. Eubank even started the bookies favourite, after a slew of late bets on the challenger, which was amazing when he had not gone beyond eight rounds in his 18 prior fights.

As we entered the second half of the fight Eubank Jnr abandoned his low posturing work rate and began to rush Saunders using the uppercut inside, a punch that has knocked out a few of his previous opponents. It was crude but effective as the challenger got himself back into things. Saunders regrouped and then began to catch Eubank coming in matching him inside with some hooks inside. Eubank must have known he was behind as his corner team were telling him he needed a KO but amazingly Jnr told Ronnie Davies to “stop talking” when Davies tried to give some instructions.

Read all the action as it happened from the huge Bad Blood show at London’s ExCel

After a incredible effort in the last by Eubank to end the fight Saunders threw his hands up in the air when the final bell sounded. It had been a very good fight that certainly lived up to the hype. It had looked like the experts where right though with Saunders had proving he was the better more experienced guy. Eubank to his credit had shown that he was ready for anyone in the UK or Europe as he had pushed Saunders all the way

Saunders deserved the verdict no doubt but again questions were asked about one of the UK official’s score. Last week Terry O’Connor rightly got flak for judging Nathan Cleverly the winner over Tony Bellew. This week it was Phil Edwards who only gave Saunders four rounds. These scores just do not make sense and must be challenged by the fighter or their promotional team. Again like last week, the right man got the decision. But that doesn’t excuse the poor scorecard.

Below is 43 scores from the boxing media who watched and scored the fight along with stats on the scoring and my full scorecard.

Bobby Hunter’s Scorecard:

Round 1…. 10-9 Saunders

Round 2…. 10-9 Saunders

Round 3…. 10-9 Saunders

Round 4…. 9-10 Eubank Jnr

Round 5… 10-10 DRAW

Round 6…. 9-10 Eubank Jnr

Round 7…. 10-9 Saunders

Round 8…. 9-10 Eubank Jnr

Round 9…. 10-9 Saunders

Round 10.. 10-9 Saunders

Round 11.. 10-9 Saunders

Round 12.. 9-10 Eubank Jnr

TOTAL : 116-113 SAUNDERS

Judges Scores:

Marcus McDonnell : 115-114 Saunders

Phil Edwards : 116-113 Eubank Jnr

Terry O’Connor : 115-113 Saunders

Boxing Media Totals:

43 In Total

33 Scores for Saunders (77 per cent)

3 Scores for Eubank Jnr (7 per cent)

7 Scores for a Draw (16 per cent)

Average score, 115-113 for Saunders

Media scores:
Barry Jones (Boxnation TV): 115-113 Saunders

John Wharton (Freelance): 115-113 Saunders

Mathew Mojica (FightSource): 115-113 Saunders

Andy Paterson (BoxingAsylum): 116-112 Saunders

Adam Canavan (BoxingMadMagazine): 116-112 Saunders

Kurt Ward (BoxingAsylum): 115-113 Saunders

Ron Lewis (The Times): 115-113 Saunders

I Edit Boxing: 114-114 DRAW***

Alex Morris (BoxingAsylum): 116-112 Saunders

Phil D Jay (WorldBoxingNews): 114-114 DRAW***

Adam Abramowitz (SaturdayNightBoxing): 115-113 Saunders

Tom Gray (Ring Magazine): 116-113 Saunders

Scott Christ (BadLeftHook): 115-113 Saunders

LeaveItInTheRingRadio: 115-113 Saunders

Fighters Rated: 116-112 Saunders

Shaun Brown (TheFightCity): 114-114 DRAW***

John Hoolan (Freelance): 115-113 Saunders

Box Talk: 115-113 Saunders

Beau Denison (TheBoxingTruth): 115-113 Saunders

Victor M Salazar (ThaBoxingVoice) : 115-113 Saunders

Dan Rafael (ESPN) : 116-112 Saunders

Boxing Guru: 115-113 Eubank Jnr **

Pro Boxing Fans: 115-113 Saunders

John Evans (LiveFight): 116-113 Saunders

Brian Campbell (ESPN): 116-112 Saunders

Paul Smith Jnr (SKY TV): 115-113 Saunders

Steve Adams Jnr (PunchPerfectPugilism): 114-114 DRAW***

FirstClassBoxing: 115-113 Saunders

Tommy Allan (BoxingAsylum): 116-112 Saunders

Livefight: 116-113 Saunders

Wolfgang Schiffbauer (Sturm Promotions): 115-113 Eubank Jnr**

Andy Clarke (Boxnation TV): 115-114 Saunders

Instant Boxing: 115-113 Saunders

TheBoxingBrains: 115-114 Saunders

EBoxingnews: 115-113 Saunders

Ryan Bivins (SweetBoxing): 114-114 DRAW***

Paul Daley (TopClassBoxing): 114-114 DRAW***

Andrew McKart (FirstClassBoxing): 115-113 Saunders

No Holds Barred: 116-112 Eubank Jnr **

Nigel Collins (ESPN FNFs ): 115-114 Saunders

Terry Dooley ( BoxingScene): 116-112 Saunders

Rob Palmer (CheckHookBoxing): 114-114 DRAW***

Ciaran Shanks (Irvine Times): 117-112 Saunders

Read all the action as it happened from the huge Bad Blood show at London’s ExCel

“Eubank Jnr must now shut his mouth,” says Saunders

DOWNLOAD OR PICK UP A COPY OF TUESDAY’S BOXING NEWS TO READ THE FULL FIGHT REPORT FROM SAUNDERS-EUBANK JNR