Middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr is still in Florida, training with Roy Jones Jr, and looking ahead to possible big fights.
The 30-year-old Eubank (29-2, 22 KO) is coming off of a fluky injury TKO win in December over Matt Korobov, which was Eubank’s U.S. debut on Showtime in Brooklyn. That followed a Feb. 2019 win over rival James DeGale, which was the biggest victory of Eubank’s career to date.
Following DeGale, Eubank moved back down to 160, having fought at 168 from 2017-19. We still have to see what he’s really got in a fight that goes longer than three minutes and 34 seconds and ends on a shoulder injury, but he’s got some name value and good connections, and he’s happy with where he’s at, career-wise.
“I’ve done a lot in the game. 31 fights, 29 wins, made a name for myself, and I’m still going strong,” he told Sky Sports’ Anna Woolhouse. “At 30 years old, I’m in my prime and in a great position now to be fighting guys at the top, the top world champions in the middleweight division. I’m as strong as ever, I have an amazing new coach in Roy Jones Jr.”
Eubank, whose trainer situation has often been a big question, says it “looks like” he’ll be staying with Jones, who is of course an all-time great fighter but hasn’t had a lot of major work as a trainer.
Eubank has his sights set on the biggest possible fights he can make at 160, though they may be tough to do.
“I’m with Showtime and PBC at the moment, it’s most likely that I’ll be fighting out here in the States,” the UK native said. “The top three fighters — well, I know the top two, and that is Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. They are two of the biggest names in boxing, if not the biggest, and people who have middleweight titles. Those are the guys I want, those are the fights that I need at this stage of my career. I don’t want to be taking any backwards steps now, it’s full steam ahead.”
Both Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KO) and Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KO) are DAZN-exclusive fighters, of course, and it’s no secret the streaming platform badly wants (maybe badly needs) them to fight one another a third time before it’s too late. Furthermore, Alvarez is now fighting at 168 pounds, it appears, though he does technically still hold the WBA title at 160. The 38-year-old Golovkin is planning to face his IBF mandatory, Kamil Szeremeta, in his next bout.
There’s a third name that Eubank has in mind, not next but at some point in the future, and it’s an old rival he’s faced before: Billy Joe Saunders, the current WBO super middleweight titlist. Saunders defeated Eubank in a middleweight bout back in 2014, winning a split decision where he had to survive a late Eubank push.
“(DeGale) was my biggest grudge match, but he’s retired now, so that’s laid to rest,” Eubank said of his biggest rivals. “Saunders is still ongoing. That’s still a fight that can and probably will happen some point in the future. That is a very exciting and interesting fight.
“Everybody knows we don’t get along, we don’t like each other. I want to get the fight on, I don’t know about him. The issue now is I’m at middleweight and he’s at super middleweight. But if something can be made, if we can make the fight, then I’m all for it, of course.”
Saunders had previously been in line, reportedly, to face Canelo Alvarez on May 2, but may have lost his place in the Canelo sweepstakes during the COVID lockdown period. Alvarez is expected to return Sept. 12, but no opponent has been announced.
As for Eubank, most likely he’ll come back in something of a tune-up, as most fighters are, but the easiest “big fight” for him to make would be with WBC titleholder Jermall Charlo, a fellow PBC fighter. PBC appeared to have that in mind by putting Charlo and Eubank on the same Showtime card in December.