Chris Eubank Jr is the IBO Super Middleweight champion of the world. To casual boxing fans, that might carry some kudos. However, to most within the boxing fraternity, it’s considered a lightly regarded belt and one that is broadly unrecognised as being on the fringe of the four main governing bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO).
Further diminishing the credibility of his newly bestowed title was Eubank Jr’s opponent Renold Quinlan, an 11-1 fighter who most (including me) hadn’t heard of prior to this fight. Needless to say, many boxing fans are finding it difficult to accept this fight as Eubank Jr’s ticket to being considered a marquee fighter. Conversely, Eubank Jr, and his father Chris Eubank Snr, claim that he is not only ready but deserving of the big fights. Perhaps he is ready (if not deserving) but we’re yet to see it for ourselves.
When Eubank Jr turned professional, I considered him hugely promising. He wasn’t (and still isn’t) trading off his father’s name for success and like the elder Eubank, has showmanship and a formidable chin. Jr has also shown impressive hand speed upon which his father has predicated the loftily perceived claims that his son is already a pound for pound great who would defeat Gennady Golovkin and Andre Ward. It’s utterances like this that make it difficult to take Team Eubank seriously but again, perhaps they know something that they’ve just not shown us.
This is the issue with Chris Eubank Jr. He talks the talk but he’s yet to walk the walk. At the time of writing, his only defeat is to current WBO Middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders. Saunders also represents the sternest test on Eubank Jr’s resume and a test that he didn’t come through in a 2014 split decision. Therefore on what basis does he consider himself at elite level?
I was wrong in predicting a Eubank Jr win against Saunders and it’s rumoured (though I’ve never heard it used, let alone mentioned, as an excuse by Team Eubank) that he was ill prior to the fight. Nevertheless, the remainder of Eubank Jr’s fights have broadly been against fighters of domestic level. For a fighter billed as being ready for the big leagues, you’d expect him to despatch them more deftly than he does which suggests that while his hand speed is impressive, his power is not.
It took 10 rounds for Eubank Jr to get a stoppage against Renold Quinlan and seven rounds to do the same against Gary O'Sullivan. Eubank Jr certainly isn’t a knock out artist but when we see him loading up his signature spiteful uppercuts, I previously expected them to do more damage then they evidently do. I wouldn’t go as far as calling him a powder puff puncher but perhaps he doesn’t possess the firepower Team Eubank would like us to think he does.
Eubank Jr also gets hit far too much for my liking. Yes, he clearly has a good chin but if he thinks he can take the amount of shots he took against Renold Quinlan against Golovkin, I imagine he’d be in for a rude awakening if they ever meet in the ring.
One thing we can’t question is Eubank Jr’s conditioning. Regularly posting videos of his training on social media, you can see the intensity and it’s undoubtedly impressive. Although, this is boxing, the hurt business, not a Zumba class. Furthermore, pads and heavy bags don’t hit back. And if Eubank Jr’s training isn’t translating into similarly impressive performances in the ring, his Snapchat videos don’t count for anything other than telling us he goes hard in the paint. Other than recognising the intense training he undergoes, I’m not making anything of his videos other than braggadocio and raising his social media profile.
Every fighter needs to have confidence and Eubank Jr has buckets of it. But many feel it’s misplaced hubris that he exudes. Suggesting his trainer Ronnie Davies is more of a cornerman who occasionally gives advice, presents a flawed fighter-trainer relationship; one that lacks discipline and respect on Jr’s part and doesn’t bode well for his fulfilling of the promise we have been sold by Eubank Snr of his son becoming one of the greats.
A Saunders rematch, Golovkin and James DeGale are all fighters that Team Eubank claim they want in their next opponents. The former two are fights that they are generally considered to have been scuppered with Eubank Snr’s negotiations and DeGale wants nothing to do with Eubank Jr due to the existing bitterness between the pair. Contrary to what Eubank Jr may feel, his IBO belt also fails to tempt any of those fighters as it isn’t a belt they regard with high esteem. Team Eubank have a bad reputation for unreasonable demands in negotiations and they may have found that they’ve blackballed themselves out of the very fights they claim to want.
The Eubank Jr show is an intriguing one and I won’t go as far as claiming he isn’t the everything Team Eubank say he is. After all, he’s shown the attributes to suggest that this could be case. He just hasn’t shown it to us in the ring. Putting his lightly regarded belt aside, he needs to step up in opposition ASAP and show that he deserves to be in the mix with elite fighters based on his performance. Thus far, none of his opponents, or indeed his performances, have presented an opportunity for this to be showcased.
Maybe my first impressions of Eubank Jr were correct and he is the real deal. However, I’ll continue to reserve judgement until he proves otherwise.
Further diminishing the credibility of his newly bestowed title was Eubank Jr’s opponent Renold Quinlan, an 11-1 fighter who most (including me) hadn’t heard of prior to this fight. Needless to say, many boxing fans are finding it difficult to accept this fight as Eubank Jr’s ticket to being considered a marquee fighter. Conversely, Eubank Jr, and his father Chris Eubank Snr, claim that he is not only ready but deserving of the big fights. Perhaps he is ready (if not deserving) but we’re yet to see it for ourselves.
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This is the issue with Chris Eubank Jr. He talks the talk but he’s yet to walk the walk. At the time of writing, his only defeat is to current WBO Middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders. Saunders also represents the sternest test on Eubank Jr’s resume and a test that he didn’t come through in a 2014 split decision. Therefore on what basis does he consider himself at elite level?
I was wrong in predicting a Eubank Jr win against Saunders and it’s rumoured (though I’ve never heard it used, let alone mentioned, as an excuse by Team Eubank) that he was ill prior to the fight. Nevertheless, the remainder of Eubank Jr’s fights have broadly been against fighters of domestic level. For a fighter billed as being ready for the big leagues, you’d expect him to despatch them more deftly than he does which suggests that while his hand speed is impressive, his power is not.
It took 10 rounds for Eubank Jr to get a stoppage against Renold Quinlan and seven rounds to do the same against Gary O'Sullivan. Eubank Jr certainly isn’t a knock out artist but when we see him loading up his signature spiteful uppercuts, I previously expected them to do more damage then they evidently do. I wouldn’t go as far as calling him a powder puff puncher but perhaps he doesn’t possess the firepower Team Eubank would like us to think he does.
Eubank Jr also gets hit far too much for my liking. Yes, he clearly has a good chin but if he thinks he can take the amount of shots he took against Renold Quinlan against Golovkin, I imagine he’d be in for a rude awakening if they ever meet in the ring.
One thing we can’t question is Eubank Jr’s conditioning. Regularly posting videos of his training on social media, you can see the intensity and it’s undoubtedly impressive. Although, this is boxing, the hurt business, not a Zumba class. Furthermore, pads and heavy bags don’t hit back. And if Eubank Jr’s training isn’t translating into similarly impressive performances in the ring, his Snapchat videos don’t count for anything other than telling us he goes hard in the paint. Other than recognising the intense training he undergoes, I’m not making anything of his videos other than braggadocio and raising his social media profile.
Every fighter needs to have confidence and Eubank Jr has buckets of it. But many feel it’s misplaced hubris that he exudes. Suggesting his trainer Ronnie Davies is more of a cornerman who occasionally gives advice, presents a flawed fighter-trainer relationship; one that lacks discipline and respect on Jr’s part and doesn’t bode well for his fulfilling of the promise we have been sold by Eubank Snr of his son becoming one of the greats.
A Saunders rematch, Golovkin and James DeGale are all fighters that Team Eubank claim they want in their next opponents. The former two are fights that they are generally considered to have been scuppered with Eubank Snr’s negotiations and DeGale wants nothing to do with Eubank Jr due to the existing bitterness between the pair. Contrary to what Eubank Jr may feel, his IBO belt also fails to tempt any of those fighters as it isn’t a belt they regard with high esteem. Team Eubank have a bad reputation for unreasonable demands in negotiations and they may have found that they’ve blackballed themselves out of the very fights they claim to want.
The Eubank Jr show is an intriguing one and I won’t go as far as claiming he isn’t the everything Team Eubank say he is. After all, he’s shown the attributes to suggest that this could be case. He just hasn’t shown it to us in the ring. Putting his lightly regarded belt aside, he needs to step up in opposition ASAP and show that he deserves to be in the mix with elite fighters based on his performance. Thus far, none of his opponents, or indeed his performances, have presented an opportunity for this to be showcased.
Maybe my first impressions of Eubank Jr were correct and he is the real deal. However, I’ll continue to reserve judgement until he proves otherwise.
