Chris Eubank, 'happy with the performance,' notches unanimous victory over Liam Williams

Chris Eubank backed up his claims that he is ready to challenge for a world middleweight title by forcing four knockdowns on his way to a unanimous victory over Liam Williams Saturday.

Eubank has always talked a good game and how he is good enough for the best in the division, and there is no denying he looked impressive as he silenced Williams' home crowd by earning scores of 116-109, 116-108 and 117-109 at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales.

The English boxer floored Williams rounds one, two, four — twice from jabs — but then let Williams off the hook. Williams fought his way back into the fight to make it competitive, before a controversial knockdown in the 11thround.

Eubank, whose father Chris, Sr., was world champion at middleweight and super middleweight in the 1990s, will argue it was a better result than American Demetrius Andrade managed, when he unanimously out-pointed Williams in a defense of his WBO belt in April. Williams recovered from an early knockdown against Andrade to last the distance and did the same against Eubank, winning a lot of the rounds in the second half of the fight.

For Eubank (32-2, 23 KOs), 32, from Brighton, it was a statement that he is ready for his first world title attempt at middleweight, after stepping down a division following a unanimous points loss to fellow Englishman George Groves for the WBA world super middleweight title four years ago.

But for Williams (23-4, 18 KOs), 29, a second defeat this year is a big dent in his hopes to box for world titles again.

«I'm happy with the performance,» Eubank said. «I wanted to teach this man a lesson. He said some menacing things before the fight and I wanted to punish him. I didn't even want to knock him out in the first round, I