What next for Chris Eubank Jr?
Photo source:premierboxingchampions.com
It’s been a dark week for boxing after Conor Benn’s failed drug test completely ruined the chance of his sold O2 Arena clash with long-term rival Chris Eubank Jr. taking place on its scheduled date, October 8.
Benn tested positive for a banned substance and the bout was postponed just two days before fight night.
While Benn is under investigation and will undergo a campaign to clear his name, just what is next for Eubank Jr, who had to cut weight to a career-low 157lbs with no actual fight taking place at the end of such sacrifice?
Thoughts immediately turned to Eubank’s next opponent, with Benn seemingly sidelined for a spell.
Callum Smith was the frontrunner at first, but now Philly’s Danny Garcia is being considered as a prime candidate to swap leather with the Brighton boxer.
To find out the full list of proposed opponents, check out this sports betting app to take advantage of bonuses being offered before the fight.
(source:talksports.com)
Retired Kell Brook and former foe Billy Joe Saunders are also on the concocted list. One particular name mentioned would certainly pique Eubank’s interest – Gennadiy Golovkin.
Junior has been calling out the Kazakh for a while now but missed out on the chance to face him in 2019 after negotiations fell down at the 11th hour and the aforementioned ‘Special K’ Brook stepped in to replace him.
After his most recent defeat to Canelo in September, which closed the curtain on their trilogy, ‘GGG’ will be moving back down to his natural weight, to defend his WBA, IBF and IBO World middleweight titles.
CBE is ranked in the top five with the WBA and is a two-time IBO titleholder, so would be a very credible challenger.
(source:talksports.com)
BBN Editor, Tim Rickson, gave his opinion on a potential Eubank-Golovkin match-up,
“I’m not sure if Golovkin would entertain Eubank as an opponent after he was messed around the first time, even if it was over three years ago. I can see why Eubank wants to fight him; ‘GGG’ is 40 now, with two losses in his last six fights, and has only fought twice in the past two years. He has visibly slowed in his performances and been given some tough times from his last few opponents. Eubank could definitely outwork him, which would be a shame to see such a generational great being beaten past his best by someone who wouldn’t have been fit to lace his gloves just a few years back.
“Personally, I would like to see Eubank as an underdog or in a 50-50 fight where he is made to work hard, so Canelo would be a good option, but his list of challengers is endless and the Mexican needs time to recover from wrist surgery, so won’t be available for a few months now.
“A domestic dust-up with Liam Smith would be my preferred choice. We have just been treated to Zach Parker vs John Ryder fight being made for October, which was greeted with pleasant surprise from fight fans, so it would be nice to have another homegrown fight to add to the list.”