Newcastle, England - A withdrawal before the sixth round brought an end to Chris Eubank Jr’s fight against tricky challenger Wanik Awdijan (28-2, 11 KO’s).

The German suffered a suspected broken rib via a crunching body-shot in the fifth round. On his stool during the interval, he told his corner he was struggling to draw breath, leading to them informing the referee that they would be withdrawing their fighter from the bout. 

It had taken a couple of rounds for Eubank (31-2, 23 KO’s) to find his range and rhythm, but in the third round he nailed Awdijan on the ropes with a good combination and began the process of taking over the fight. 

"I would have liked to have put on more of a show but the guy said I broke his ribs and he could not continue. Some guys take head shots all day but nobody can take body shots all day," Eubank Jr. said.

“He came out boxing in the southpaw stance and I was told he was an orthodox fighter and trained for that so that was something else."

Eubank Jr. is now looking to return to action in December - and there are several options that he's looking at.

One of them is domestic rival Liam Williams. Another is former two division champion Billy Joe Saunders, who handed Eubank Jr. his first career defeat in 2014.

“Anyway I am getting a big fight, a big name, a fan-friendly fight in December. The options are endless but I just know that, from December, it is only big fights or world titles. Anyone with a world title, anyone the fans want to see me fight. Liam Williams’ name keeps popping up, that’s an option," Eubank Jr. said.

“And that rat Saunders is running around saying he will fight me for £5 million.”