A latte with four sugars. Chris Eubank Jr has arrived on time, relaxed, in a โNext Genโ tracksuit (his own, new clothing line) and casually orders a latte with four sugars. Who drinks a latter with four sugars? Presumably not a man who is excessively troubled about the prospect of fighting WBA super-middleweight champion George Groves on Saturday, or indeed particularly worried about making weight on Friday afternoon.
Eubank sits alone. So often at his side, praising him, cajoling him, proselytising for him is his father Chris Eubank. But today Senior is absent. As it happens itโs due to a cold that the father is keeping away from the son, but the optics underscore the point Junior is making. โThis isnโt about my old man. Itโs about me,โ Eubank Jr maintains. โThese are the fights which make me my own entity.โ
This could be his own historic fight, to match, maybe, his fatherโs legendary exploits against the likes of Nigel Benn in his heyday. โItโs on that level. It has the potential to be for sure,โ Junior explains. โThey separate me from anybody else, not just my father, which is what Iโve been striving for my entire career. For people to see me as Chris Eubank. Not Chris Eubankโs son.โ
Itโs helped him advance, being the son of the famous father. โI accept it. It doesnโt matter if I become the greatest fighter whoever lived. I will always be compared. We have the same name, weโre in the same sport,โ he concedes. โI donโt have a problem with that, he was an amazing fighter. Itโs no bad thing to be compared to somebody that was as great as he was.โ
But now Junior is determined to be known in his own right. Victory over Groves would undoubtedly give him that. That is what Eubank Jr has always wanted. โAny fighter thatโs serious about boxing wants to be in those massive fights, fighting the best fighters with the whole country watching and talking. Thatโs every fighterโs dream or it should be. I was no different,โ he said.
Groves has perceived a longing for fame in Eubank Jr and criticised him for it. โGeorge has said Iโm โInsta-famous,โ thatโs one of his things. Thatโs not a bad thing,โ Eubank responded. โThat means that I have people that arenโt boxing fans necessarily that are interested in what Iโm doing, interested in me. Iโm bringing non-boxing fans into the sport, which is good. It means Iโm doing my job, it means Iโm on the right track. Am I fighting for fame? No. If youโre fighting for any other reason other than you love the sport and you want to be the best, then youโre not going to make it. Iโm being told that George is saying that heโs fighting because he doesnโt have enough money yet to be set up for life. Itโs a dangerous mentality. Iโm fighting because I want to be the best. I want to beat the best. I want to make a name for myself. Iโm not fighting because Iโm worried about not being able to live comfortably for the rest of my life.โ
โIโm a people person, Iโm a peopleโs champion. I let people see my journey. I document my training every day. On Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram people can see what Iโm going through to get to the level Iโm at. Whereas George is the type of fighter, everythingโs behind closed doors. He doesnโt really want anybody to know what heโs doing. So heโll never be able to reach the people like I can. Is he jealous of that? Maybe, I donโt know,โ he adds.
โIโm not putting my health and risking my livelihood for nothing. There has to be some type of reward, some type of security. That was important. Itโs important that that is there. But is that my main motivation? Absolutely not. Legacy is my motivation. Inspiring the next generation is my motivation. Being the fighter that people that donโt know much about boxing, being the fighter that can bring those people into the sport, thatโs my motivation.โ
Eubank concludes, โI want to create a legacy and with that I have to fight the best over long periods of time and I believe this fight is the beginning of that stage of my career where I have these mega-fights against the best people in the division at the time. I will fight for as long as I can. Itโs not about moneyโฆ I just want to fight the best.โ