There is no doubting that Chris Eubank Jr is a top up and coming fighter at 160, and with a couple more good wins can begin chasing serious titles in the division, although his father – now known simply as ‘English’ to avoid confusion, seemingly isn’t helping matters by again insisting, ‘he beats Golovkin now!’
Eubank makes both his Sky Sports and Matchroom promotional debut on October 24 against unheralded American, Tony Jeter, with a 2nd outing on the December 12 London card that is topped by the Anthony Joshua/Dillian Whyte heavyweight clash, and is facing a constant barrage of criticism that his father is at times hindering – rather than helping – his career.
“I’m not as cagey or cautious as Junior. I’ve been there and done this. Back in 1990 I fought Nigel Benn and I don’t know any critic who said I should have taken that fight. It’s the same thing with Golovkin – [Junior] beats him now,” ‘English’ said to Sky Sports about his son.
It’s a sentiment the young Brighton fighter shares, although unlike his father, displays a realistic sense of caution when it comes to the murderous punching Kazakh, insisting he is keen to build on the Sky Sports platform, and look at big domestic opportunities the fans want to see first.
“[GGG’s] got weaknesses that I feel I can exploit, so the goal is to work towards that fight. It’s a huge fight down the line,” he said pragmatically. “He’s easy to hit and he’s slow. Those are the weakness I see and I think I can exploit in my opinion. I don’t think he’s had a defining fight. I don’t think he’s fought anyone who’s really been there to try and win.”
True or not, Eubank has to attend to matters in the here and now first. After Jeter, he has to get past whomever appears in the opposite corner on December 12. in London, most likely bitter Irish rival, Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan, who has been chasing Eubank for months and has been the front of a popular social media campaign directed at the Eubanks – and promoter Eddie Hearn – to ensure he is the man fighting Jr in December.
With Hearn admitting recently that fight is all but done, there then remain lucrative fights on British shores in and around middleweight, with the likes of IBF super-middleweight champion, James DeGale as well as St.Helen’s Martin Murray and George Groves all options should Jr move up and then back down like he has previously claimed he will in the pursuit of titles.
Either way, he states fan demand will be crucial in the eventual journey he takes; “The question is who the public want to see me fight. People have mentioned George Groves and Martin Murray – these are fights the public want to see.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my fans so if that’s what they want and we can get, that’s what we’re going to do,” he added.
Twitter @Undilutedpoison
