Chris Eubank Jr claimed the interim WBA middleweight world title after an early injury to Matt Korobov on Saturday. The Brit dropped down a division for his US debut and was declared winner by TKO after Korobov hurt his left shoulder during the second round at New York's Barclays Center.
The Russian started strong and gave plenty of indications he would cause Eubank trouble after knocking the 30-year-old back with a left-hand blow in the first round.
However, he appeared to tweak his shoulder shortly after the start of round two, causing referee Steve Willis to halt the fight.
Korobov was unable to continue the 12-round contest and Eubank was declared the winner, giving him the interim WBA middleweight belt.
Chris Eubank Jr won the interim WBA middleweight title (Image: Getty Images) Read More Related Articles Andy Ruiz Jr apologises to coach and father for not training for Anthony Joshua rematch Read More Related Articles Anthony Joshua ordered to fight Oleksandr Usyk or give up belt he won against Andy Ruiz Jr Eubank had been hoping to put on a show on his US debut after vowing to clean up the middleweight division.
The Brighton-based fighter expressed his disappointment that things didn't go to plan and claimed that Korobov's injury came as a result of karma.
"I feel like I was just about to get my swagger on," he said in the ring. "I hit him with a shot, and he turned around and stopped.
"I was about to go at him, but the referee told us to stop. I guess something happened with his shoulder, I don’t know.
Matt Korobov injured his shoulder during the second round of the fight (Image: Getty Images) Read More Related Articles Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz scorecards after heavyweight world title fight "There’s nothing to take from the fight, I threw like three or four punches. I was just warming up.
"Karma is a real thing, whatever he’s done, I don’t know, there’s a reason whatever happened happened.
"This wasn’t my dream debut here, I wanted to get my knockout and excite the fans."
Although it didn't come under his preferred circumstances, victory in the Big Apple leaves the Brighton fighter with a 29-2 record.
Eubank and Matt Korobov in action (Image: Getty Images) Read More Boxing stories Wilder tells Fury he's the bigger draw Fury opens up on failed drugs test Ruiz Jr's diet revealed ahead of rematch Tommy Fury issues KSI challenge It was Eubank's first fight since he ended James DeGale's career with a unanimous decision victory in February and he revealed he wants to be involved in more fights after the turn of the year.
"2020 I want to be super active, I want to fight for the belts," he continued.
"Now that I’ve landed, I’ve settled with the new promotional team, I feel like the ball can really get rolling in 2020."
