Chris Eubank Jr has successfully defended his IBO super-middleweight world title thanks to a ruthless knockout of Avni Yildirim in the World Boxing Super Series in Stuttgart.
The Briton was initially on the back foot, with his Turkish opponent dictating the tempo from the centre of the ring early on and being cheered on by a partisan crowd at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle.
Yildirim, however, was almost felled by a vicious right uppercut in the opening round, dropping to his knee before taking a standing count.
The 26-year-old, who weighed in at the 12st weight limit and was previously undefeated from 16 professional fights with 10 knockouts, recovered for the second, when he started to find range with his jab.
However, Eubank Jr stepped things up again in round three, hitting his opponent with flurry of rapid punches before a fierce left hook sent the Turk sprawling onto the canvas, prompting the referee to step in and call a halt to the contest.
The 28-year-old, who had fought outside the United Kingdom only once previously, will now take on the winner of next week's fight between Jamie Cox and George Groves.
Giuseppe Labellarte
