By Ben Palmer
IT’S Saturday 12th November 2011. The London riots have subsided. Prince William has married university sweetheart Kate Middleton. And Chris Eubank Jr is about to make his professional boxing debut…
OK, maybe the latter doesn’t quite stack up to the cultural significance of the first two. But make no bones about it: Eubank Jr’s foray into professional boxing attracted huge interest and transcended hardcore boxing fans.
Not because he’d collected an embarrassment of accolades in amateur boxing. Not because of any Olympic appearance. But because of that Eubank name, with Chris Eubank Sr’s esoteric panache capturing imaginations in and out the ring in late twentieth century Britain. Over sixteen million people invited Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn into their living rooms in 1993, as their highly anticipated rematch ended in a draw.
After almost 13 years in the professional ranks, Eubank Jr has, by and large, shed the skin of his family name, and indeed the moniker ‘Junior’, operating as one of the most recognisable faces in British boxing. He’s combined his individuality with that unmistakable Eubank aura and mystique, using his surname as a platform to build upon, rather than a maze to become lost in.
But there’s one more hurdle Eubank Jr must clear before he can well and truly stand on his own two feet. One more bridge to cross. Unlike his father, he’s never reached the zenith of professional boxing: winning a legitimate world title belt.
His one and only shot, for the WBA super middleweight strap in a domestic dust-up with George Groves in 2018, was a bloody, valiant effort, albeit one that ended in a unanimous defeat.
Fellow Brit Liam Smith unceremoniously interrupted Eubank Jr’s six-fight win streak in Manchester at the beginning of 2023, whose infamous granite chin deserted him in round four. With his father, who had been ubiquitous in the early stages of his son’s career, no longer part of the team, Eubank Jr cut a forlorn figure in the aftermath of his first stoppage defeat.
As has been the case after countless high-profile defeats, sundry explanations were presented, namely an illegal, stray elbow from Smith. Nevertheless, in just under eight months, Eubank Jr returned the favour, stopping Liam Smith in what many deem to be his most impressive performance to date.
Fast forward 12 months, though, and he’s failed to build upon that sterling night in Manchester. A late arrival to the Saudi party, Eubank Jr’s next fight comes against Kamil Szeremeta on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol.
A serviceable opponent after a lengthy layoff? Perhaps. Szeremeta is a capable former European middleweight champion, sharing the ring with Gennady Golovkin and Jaime Munguía in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
But hardly one to set pulses racing. With boxing fans becoming accustomed to fight cards occupied by 50-50 matchups since Saudi Arabia came to town, this bout feels like a relic of (hopefully) a bygone era. One of those contests that would be chief support on a top-heavy pay-per-view show, or headlining a damp squib of a night that comes as part of your subscription.
Now aged 34, he is, to coin a boxing phrase, entering the championship rounds of his career. A fight with super-middleweight kingpin Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has been mooted for May 2025 but, after over a year out of the ring, Eubank Jr will need to spend much more time buffing his arsenal to have a realistic chance of penetrating Canelo’s armour.
The question remains to be answered: what does Chris Eubank Jr want? He’s been involved in a plethora of big events and would’ve been paid handsomely to do so. The final chapters of his career remain unwritten: if constructed carefully, they could be the most defining ones of all.
