IN just a few hours Chris Eubank Jr will be stepping into the ring with George Groves to fight for the WBA super-middleweight title and a place in the final of the World Boxing Super Series. It is the biggest fight of his career and it’s tantalising to consider how the normally unflappable Eubank is feeling now.
“I’ve been fighting my entire life. I was nervous in my first pro fight, walking to the ring my heart was pumping at a thousand beats per second. Now I’m in my element. This is my home now,” Junior said. “I’m too hungry. I’m too committed. I’ve come too far now.”
Eubank has a simple ambition, even if it is one that will be hard to accomplish. He wants to get to the same level that Anthony Joshua currently enjoys.
“Heavyweights they do have that pull, which is very hard to compete with. But Anthony’s doing an amazing job. He’s putting on great fights, he’s doing what he needs to do. Us as British fighters we’re looking at that and everyone’s trying to emulate it. We all want to get to the position where you can fill up a stadium of 80,000, 100,000 people. I believe winning this tournament would put me in that same pool, well it’s not a pool because it’s just one guy. It’d put me that same category. The potential’s there for sure,” Eubank reflected.
“[Froch-Groves] was one fight, it was a one-off and it was a controversial fight before, there was the beef and the back and forth and so that created a lot of interest. Whereas Anthony he’s having these fights and he’s not even saying anything before these fights. He’s shaking the guy’s hand and wishing him the best of luck. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. But the public, they love it. It’s great. It’s great for British boxing.
“Boxing is at an all time high now. If there was ever a time for [Eubank senior’s era] to be replicated, this is it. This is the generation that can do it. The next generation.”
