There is still no word from Britain’s WBA (interim) middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr (19-1, 14ko) regarding his next move, with February’s win over Russia’s Dmitry Chudinov the last time the Brighton based fighter stepped between the ropes.
A mooted rematch with bitter rival Billy Joe Saunders fell through earlier this year, with the Hatfield southpaw finally securing his mandatory challenge to Andy Lee’s WBO title for September, and a potential fight for Eubank on the undercard against Irishman Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (21-1, 14ko) is now also not going to happen.
O’Sullivan had been offered a fight with Eubank earlier in the year but was dissatisfied at the contractual minutiae that would have ostensibly tied him down to promoter Frank Warren for longer than he’d like.
Speaking to iFLtv recently, the Irishman, who hails from Cork, is still confident in the possibility of appearing on the big September bill himself however, and he remains convinced that Eubank wants no part of him.
“There has been talks, we have being talking to Adam Booth and Pascal (Collins, O’Sullivan’s trainer) was talking to Frank Warren, so there is a strong possibility I will be on it (Lee/Saunders card) now,” O’Sullivan said.
“I always wanted to fight Chris Eubank Jr. I made it clear I wanted to fight him and bash him up. For one reason or another it couldn’t be made. I am not sure exactly why, but I think he was hiding behind Frank Warren.”
“It is going to be a great night, a fantastic night. I can’t wait for it, especially if I get on the card.”
Further qualifying his position in the Irish Examiner, O’Sullivan – who has boxed in the US 3x already this year – added;
“My promoter Ken Casey can get me fights in America but I’d like to be on that (Lee/Saunders) card. It’s a historic night, only the third outdoor show ever in Ireland.
“The first one was Muhammad Ali, the second one was Steve Collins and that plonker Chris Eubank Snr. This will only be the third so it would be nice to be part of that. There would be a lot of Cork fans who would want to come.”
One person who will be definitely be appearing on the undercard, (on the Andy Lee/Adam Booth side of the bill) is Irish female amateur standout Katie Taylor, who will box in a 4×2 min rounds contest against an as yet unnamed opponent.
The former Olympic champion had been previously met with unenthusiastic comments from promoter Frank Warren, who has publicly stated he isn’t a fan of the women’s game.
Twitter @Undilutedpoison
