Chris Eubank Jr was told to "stop it" as he rained punches on cruiserweight title contender Richard Riakporhe after landing a number of damaging shots during a sparring session.
The super-middleweight star is returning to the ring this weekend against Liam Smith after almost a year out of action, and new footage has emerged showing a sparring match he had with cruiserweight Riakporhe. The British pair can be seen exchanging, but it appears that the major damage is being done by Eubank Jr, who lands a series of vicious uppercuts that snap Riakporhe's head back.
And at one point during the clip, Eubank Sr can be heard telling his son to "stop it" as another coach tells him to work the body. The former two-weight world champion has history when it comes to seeing serious injuries in the ring and has previously told his son to slow down during real fights in order to keep his opponent safe, most notably against Nick Blackwell in 2016.
However, it remains to be seen exactly which shot had caused Eubank Sr to implore his son to stop during the video of his session with Riakporhe. The pair can be seen in a photo taken after the session seemingly friendly, so it's unlikely that Eubank Jr was doing anything particularly dirty during their rounds.
Riakporhe and Eubank Jr have been sparring partners for years, with the footage made available to Mirror Fighting coming from a 2021 session between the pair. In a 2017 interview, ahead of Eubank's fight with George Groves Riakporhe noted that size wouldn't be a factor between the pair given how their sparring had gone.
What do you make of the Chris Eubank Jr and Richard Riakporhe sparring session? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"Chris Eubank was comfortable moving around with me and other cruiserweights," he told Behind The Gloves. "He was comfortable moving around with light-heavyweights and he's just used to it. He's physically strong, he's a physically strong man from my experience, I can tell... He can hit hard."
Both men are back in action on Saturday night at a sold-out AO Arena in Manchester. Eubank Jr will look to cement his place as a world title contender at 168lb when he faces former champion Smith, while Riakporhe takes on his own ex-champion Krzysztof Glowacki in a bout that will surely put him in contention for world honours in 2023.
