Bilal Fawaz (13-1-1) retained his British and Commonwealth junior middleweight titles with an eighth-round stoppage of Eithan James (17-3) tonight at Utilita Arena in Birmingham. The finish came at 1:14 of the round, earning the 38-year-old champion the £5,000 knockout bonus Eddie Hearn had offered before the fight.
Fawaz landed a heavy right hand that dropped James near the ropes, then scored another knockdown before the referee ended the contest. For James, it was his first stoppage defeat, with all his previous professional fights having gone to decisions.
The ending came almost immediately after commentator Darren Barker suggested Fawaz was feeling the pace. That observation offered James some encouragement, but Fawaz still had enough power to end the fight suddenly. Any prospect of the younger challenger taking advantage of a tiring champion disappeared with the right hand.
James, 26, entered with considerably more experience going the distance than dealing with a fight-ending crisis. His record showed he could complete rounds, but Fawaz forced a different test in the eighth. Once the champion hurt him, James could not get through the follow-up and recover between rounds.
For Fawaz, the result gives him a successful defense against a challenger 12 years younger. His age will remain part of the discussion when tougher opponents arrive, particularly if he begins to tire during longer fights. Against James, however, he retained the punching power to settle the contest before it reached the championship rounds.
WHAT A FINISH! 🤯
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Hearn’s bonus added a financial reward to the finish, although keeping both titles was the larger achievement. Fawaz left Birmingham with his belts after turning a moment when his stamina was being questioned into the decisive attack.
James now has a different kind of defeat to recover from. Previous points losses allowed him to finish the fight; this time, Fawaz’s power took that option away.