CHRIS EUBANK JR will not be boxing for GB at the Olympic Games this year. The rules have been changed, so countries can select professionals for a final Olympic qualifier in July, but it was an odd suggestion, given that GB have already qualified middleweight Anthony Fowler for Rio 2016 and indeed seeing as Eubank has a British title fight of his own to contest on June 25.
Fowler’s place at Rio has been confirmed. After eight British boxers qualified for Rio at the European Qualification Event in Turkey in April, including Fowler, AIBA, the world governing body, wrote to Team GB asking them to accept those Olympic places on behalf of the boxers that won them. Team GB wrote back to confirm they were accepting them. That means Britain can’t actually send boxers to future qualification events in those weight divisions where they have already qualified. Basically it means Anthony Fowler is going to Rio at 75kgs. As indeed are Joshua Buatsi at 81kgs and Lawrence Okolie at 91kgs.
In response to reports that Chris Eubank Jr has applied to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games, a spokesperson for GB Boxing said: “We can confirm that we have had enquiries from people claiming to represent Chris Eubank Jr. We explained that the qualification process for Rio 2016 has been going on for several months and that Great Britain has already qualified a boxer in the middleweight (75kgs) category, Antony Fowler, and that he will represent Team GB in that weight class at the Olympic Games this summer.”
