AFTER a testy press conference on Tuesday, speaking to Boxing News, Chris Eubank Jr insisted that George Groves didn’t manage to rile even, even when he declared Junior was facing a “pivotal moment” in his relationship with his father, famous former world champion Chris Eubank.
“It doesn’t bother me. If anything I’m happy. I’m happy that he’s focusing on things he shouldn’t be focusing on. Him talking about my father and thinking about my father and thinking about our relationship, where’s that getting him? What’s that going to do to help him beat me? Nothing. The only thing he should be thinking about it is: ‘How in the world am I going to survive the onslaught that’s coming my way?’” Eubank Jr told Boxing News.
Their February 17 fight at the Manchester Arena is dividing opinion. Some point to Eubank’s workrate and conditioning, others to Groves’ technique and ringcraft. Surprisingly Eubank insists Groves, the WBA super-middleweight world champion, will be a straight-forward fight.
“I’m preparing for it to be an absolute war. That’s how I prepare for all my fights. But do I see it being a fight where I’m going to get hurt or where I’m going to have to really dig deep? No. That’s not my thought process. He’s in the ring with me. I’m not in the ring with him,” he said.
He forecasts a stoppage, though with no specific method of victory. “There’s no prediction. The only prediction that I’ll make is that it’s not going to go the 12 rounds. I’m going to stop him, I’m going to knock him out. I’m going to break him down. That’s my prediction,” Eubank said.
“He’s a world champion. There are qualities about him that I have to watch, that I have to respect. Admire? Definitely not. He doesn’t do anything in the ring that I see that I think I have to be wary of or that I have to worry about. He’s an all-rounder, an all-round fighter but he doesn’t excel in any part of boxing in my opinion. He does enough. He gets through these fights and it’s not going to be enough to compete with me.”
