Arrogant, brash, divisive. These are three words you could use to describe Chris Eubank Jr. Talented, fast and powerful are three more. If it were 20 years earlier, I could easily be describing his enigmatic father, the fighter known as “Simply the Best”, Chris Eubank Sr.
Chris Eubank Jr. has taken to his father’s craft with remarkable ease amassing an impressive 24 wins and 1 loss in his short career. Of his 24 victories, Jr. has dispatched 18 opponents inside the distance, and therein lies the problem. With the exception of Billy Joe Saunders, it is fair to say that the calibre of opponent Jr. has faced leaves a lot to be desired.
It also puts this question in our mind, in 20 years’ time when Jr. is done, will the pros be comparing the second-generation star as a carbon copy of the legend his father created or simply as a boxer who was fighting in his shadow?
Chris Eubank Jr. comes from a life of privilege, a million miles away from his father’s upbringing on the mean streets of London. Does he have the grit and hunger that comes with a tough upbringing to dig deep in times of adversity and come back to get the win? Will the British public and boxing fans in general warm to a braggadocios son of an egotistical multi-millionaire?
There is no questioning Jr’s talent, but does he have the heart? When he is dragged into the trenches and taken to that place that he has never been before, that place that all the greatest fighters have been, that place where they find out what they’re really made of, the place where legends are born. I’m talking about Hagler vs. Hearns. I’m talking about Gatti vs. Ward 1. I’m talking about Chris Eubank Sr. vs. Nigel “The Dark Destroyer” Benn.
Sr. has been there. Sr. has been there more than once. Chris Eubank Sr. was there with Nigel Benn twice, winning one, with the second being deemed a draw. Sr. has also been to the trenches twice with Michael “The Force” Watson.
Eubank vs. Watson 2 was the fight where Sr. had to really dig deep, where he fought extreme exhaustion and was dragged through the trenches for 10 rounds. Round 11 will go down as one of the greatest rounds in boxing history. The round will also go down in infamy, for the uppercut landed upon Watson’s chin changed his life forever. Moments after the fight was stopped it became clear that Watson was not right. He was stretchered out of the ring and spent the next year in intensive care with brain damage and eventually requiring 24hr care when he was finally allowed home from hospital.
It is uncanny that 25 years later, Eubank Jr. ended the career of then British Middleweight Champion Nick “Bang Bang” Blackwell in a scarily similar way. There was a lot of bad blood in the build up to the 2016 British title fight with Blackwell dismissing Eubank Jr. as nothing more than hype.
Jr. took exception to this and went to work early on Blackwell displaying accuracy and power with great speed and movement. The sweet science of boxing is to hit and not get hit and Jr. put on a masterful performance that night. Eubank was landing shots at will and Blackwell seemed to have no reply.
Blackwell’s head was so swollen that it prompted Eubank Sr. to tell his son to “take him out, not to the face, to the body”. Jr. heeded his father’s words and eventually the referee asked the fight doctor to take a look at Blackwell to see if he was fit to continue. The ref. stopped the fight on doctor’s orders. It became clear in the seconds after the fight was stopped that Blackwell was in serious trouble. He was taken to hospital where doctors put him into an induced coma due to a bleed on his skull, sustained in the fight. Blackwell later went on to make a full recovery but he was deemed to never fight again.
Perhaps it was Sr’s intervention that allowed Blackwell to make a full recovery. The Watson fight is never far from his mind with the former foes becoming great friends in the years that followed. Many believe that the Watson incident had such an effect on Eubank Sr. that he was never the same fighter again, himself admitting that he “lost the instinct to finish”.
Eubank Jr’s one loss was to unbeaten WBO Middleweight World Champion “Superb” Billy Joe Saunders. This fight could have been Jr’s opportunity to dig deep, come through adversity, snatch at greatness and pick up the win. He didn’t however, and Saunders displayed great ability and hunger to win the contest. “Superb” took up centre position in the ring and had his way with an apprehensive opponent. Eubank Jr. was largely inactive for the first six rounds and by the time he had gotten himself into the fight, Saunders was too far ahead and cruising to victory.
The five fights since his defeat at the hands of Saunders have seen Jr. take a slight step up in class with Jr. winning each fight inside the distance.
One fight of particular interest to Irish fans was with Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan of the Celtic Warrior gym in Dublin. This bout was something of a grudge match with “Spike” utilizing Eubank Jr’s social media presence to call him out at every opportunity across all platforms.
O’Sullivan proved challenging for Jr. early in the fight, but eventually Eubank’s speed and accuracy proved the undoing of the Irishman with “Spike” forced to retire from the contest with a perforated eardrum.
I believe that Eubank has all the tools to be great. He is fast and powerful. He is exciting to watch. He has the instinct to finish fights. He has ring presence. He is a showman. He has bundles of belief in himself, but what he has in abundance, and perhaps most importantly, is talent. Make no mistake about it, he is a very talented fighter, but until he has been to the trenches, the place where good fighters become great fighters, the place where legends are made, and he comes up with the goods to win, he will forever be boxing in his father’s shadow.
What’s on the line?
Chris Eubank Jr’s next fight is against the little known Australian, Renold Quinlan, for the questionble IBO super middleweight title. The IBO belt is not considered one of the four major world belts, however, it is a chance for Jr to enhance his reputation whilst getting his hands on some gold.
How do I watch?
The fight takes place on Saturday 4th February at the London Olympia and will be will be shown on ITV Box Office (Sky channel 493) and can be booked here for £9.95/€12.95.
Predictions and Betting
This looks to be the easiest fight of Eubank’s career so far, and at odds as short as 1/250 to win, the only betting market worth looking at is Round Betting. Given Jr’s short odds, how could he not dispatch the unproven Quinlan inside one round.
Chris Eubank Jr is 10/1 with Paddy Power to win in Round 1.
Family man with a passion for Football, MMA and Boxing. If you have an argument, I’ll more than likely have a counter one.
Comments are closed.
Arrogant, brash, divisive. These are three words you could use to describe Chris Eubank Jr. Talented, fast and powerful are three more. If it were 20 years earlier, I could easily be describing his enigmatic father, the fighter known as “Simply the Best”, Chris Eubank Sr.
Chris Eubank Jr. has taken to his father’s craft with remarkable ease amassing an impressive 24 wins and 1 loss in his short career. Of his 24 victories, Jr. has dispatched 18 opponents inside the distance, and therein lies the problem. With the exception of Billy Joe Saunders, it is fair to say that the calibre of opponent Jr. has faced leaves a lot to be desired.
It also puts this question in our mind, in 20 years’ time when Jr. is done, will the pros be comparing the second-generation star as a carbon copy of the legend his father created or simply as a boxer who was fighting in his shadow?
Chris Eubank Jr. comes from a life of privilege, a million miles away from his father’s upbringing on the mean streets of London. Does he have the grit and hunger that comes with a tough upbringing to dig deep in times of adversity and come back to get the win? Will the British public and boxing fans in general warm to a braggadocios son of an egotistical multi-millionaire?
There is no questioning Jr’s talent, but does he have the heart? When he is dragged into the trenches and taken to that place that he has never been before, that place that all the greatest fighters have been, that place where they find out what they’re really made of, the place where legends are born. I’m talking about Hagler vs. Hearns. I’m talking about Gatti vs. Ward 1. I’m talking about Chris Eubank Sr. vs. Nigel “The Dark Destroyer” Benn.
Sr. has been there. Sr. has been there more than once. Chris Eubank Sr. was there with Nigel Benn twice, winning one, with the second being deemed a draw. Sr. has also been to the trenches twice with Michael “The Force” Watson.
Eubank vs. Watson 2 was the fight where Sr. had to really dig deep, where he fought extreme exhaustion and was dragged through the trenches for 10 rounds. Round 11 will go down as one of the greatest rounds in boxing history. The round will also go down in infamy, for the uppercut landed upon Watson’s chin changed his life forever. Moments after the fight was stopped it became clear that Watson was not right. He was stretchered out of the ring and spent the next year in intensive care with brain damage and eventually requiring 24hr care when he was finally allowed home from hospital.
It is uncanny that 25 years later, Eubank Jr. ended the career of then British Middleweight Champion Nick “Bang Bang” Blackwell in a scarily similar way. There was a lot of bad blood in the build up to the 2016 British title fight with Blackwell dismissing Eubank Jr. as nothing more than hype.
Jr. took exception to this and went to work early on Blackwell displaying accuracy and power with great speed and movement. The sweet science of boxing is to hit and not get hit and Jr. put on a masterful performance that night. Eubank was landing shots at will and Blackwell seemed to have no reply.
Blackwell’s head was so swollen that it prompted Eubank Sr. to tell his son to “take him out, not to the face, to the body”. Jr. heeded his father’s words and eventually the referee asked the fight doctor to take a look at Blackwell to see if he was fit to continue. The ref. stopped the fight on doctor’s orders. It became clear in the seconds after the fight was stopped that Blackwell was in serious trouble. He was taken to hospital where doctors put him into an induced coma due to a bleed on his skull, sustained in the fight. Blackwell later went on to make a full recovery but he was deemed to never fight again.
Perhaps it was Sr’s intervention that allowed Blackwell to make a full recovery. The Watson fight is never far from his mind with the former foes becoming great friends in the years that followed. Many believe that the Watson incident had such an effect on Eubank Sr. that he was never the same fighter again, himself admitting that he “lost the instinct to finish”.
Eubank Jr’s one loss was to unbeaten WBO Middleweight World Champion “Superb” Billy Joe Saunders. This fight could have been Jr’s opportunity to dig deep, come through adversity, snatch at greatness and pick up the win. He didn’t however, and Saunders displayed great ability and hunger to win the contest. “Superb” took up centre position in the ring and had his way with an apprehensive opponent. Eubank Jr. was largely inactive for the first six rounds and by the time he had gotten himself into the fight, Saunders was too far ahead and cruising to victory.
The five fights since his defeat at the hands of Saunders have seen Jr. take a slight step up in class with Jr. winning each fight inside the distance.
One fight of particular interest to Irish fans was with Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan of the Celtic Warrior gym in Dublin. This bout was something of a grudge match with “Spike” utilizing Eubank Jr’s social media presence to call him out at every opportunity across all platforms.
O’Sullivan proved challenging for Jr. early in the fight, but eventually Eubank’s speed and accuracy proved the undoing of the Irishman with “Spike” forced to retire from the contest with a perforated eardrum.
I believe that Eubank has all the tools to be great. He is fast and powerful. He is exciting to watch. He has the instinct to finish fights. He has ring presence. He is a showman. He has bundles of belief in himself, but what he has in abundance, and perhaps most importantly, is talent. Make no mistake about it, he is a very talented fighter, but until he has been to the trenches, the place where good fighters become great fighters, the place where legends are made, and he comes up with the goods to win, he will forever be boxing in his father’s shadow.
What’s on the line?
Chris Eubank Jr’s next fight is against the little known Australian, Renold Quinlan, for the questionble IBO super middleweight title. The IBO belt is not considered one of the four major world belts, however, it is a chance for Jr to enhance his reputation whilst getting his hands on some gold.
How do I watch?
The fight takes place on Saturday 4th February at the London Olympia and will be will be shown on ITV Box Office (Sky channel 493) and can be booked here for £9.95/€12.95.
Predictions and Betting
This looks to be the easiest fight of Eubank’s career so far, and at odds as short as 1/250 to win, the only betting market worth looking at is Round Betting. Given Jr’s short odds, how could he not dispatch the unproven Quinlan inside one round.
Chris Eubank Jr is 10/1 with Paddy Power to win in Round 1.
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Family man with a passion for Football, MMA and Boxing. If you have an argument, I’ll more than likely have a counter one.
Comments are closed.