Can Hearn get Eubank Jr. the Golovkin fight?

By Boxing News - 05/26/2016 - Comments

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By Scott Gilfoid: #2 WBA, #3 WBC Chris Eubank Jr. recently signed a new two-fight contract with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport promotional company, and Eubank Jr. reportedly wants a title shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin before the end of the year.

Hearn says he’s made an offer to Golovkin’s promoters at K2 to make the fight happen with Eubank Jr. Hearn believes it’s the second biggest money fight available to Golovkin behind only the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fight.

The question is can Hearn deliver the fight for the 26-year-old Eubank Jr? The other question is what happens if Hearn doesn’t get the fight for Eubank Jr. against Golovkin? Will Eubank Jr. leave Matchroom Sport when his promotional contract expires or will he re-up with them despite their failure to land him the fight he wants against Golovkin? There’s got to be some pressure on Hearn to try and make the fight with Golovkin in order to keep Eubank Jr. and his father happy. They believe they can win that fight. You have to wonder what Hearn feels about Eubank Jr’s chances? But he’s going to do what Eubank Jr. and his pop wants him to do. If they want the Golovkin fight, which seems to be the case, then Hearn is going to give his best shot at getting the fight.

“According to the Eubanks apparently all roads lead to Triple G and the gauntlet has been thrown down to Eddie Hearn, demanding he makes this match by the end of their new two-fight agreement,” said promoter Frank Warren in his column at frankwarren.com. “In my mind, there is no way in the world that Eubank beats Golovkin, not in a million years. Hearn has hinted at sharing this opinion, but will obviously have no problem in putting in a call to GGG’s promoters K2. If the holder of three of the recognized belts can be tempted into what should be a straightforward defence of his titles it should be an easy night for him.”

I agree with Frank. I think it’s a fight that Eubank Jr. cannot win right now against the 34-year-old Golovkin. But I do think it’s a good move for Eubank Jr. to take the fight because it will get him a lot of attention worldwide. If Eubank Jr. can ham it up in the lead-up to the fight by creating a lot of attention to himself, he could become something of a celebrity even if he gets beaten to a pulp.

I think it’s a quick way to fame for Eubank Jr. If he has to fight his way there slowly by facing guys like Daniel Jacobs and Billy Joe Saunders instead, it might take him longer because those guys aren’t receiving the sort of attention right now that Golovkin is. At least if Eubank Jr. takes the fight with Golovkin, he’ll find out how good or not so good he is.

On the flipside, if Eubank Jr. shies away from the Golovkin fight and faces Saunders again and takes another loss, it would probably cripple his career permanently. There’s a big difference between losing to Golovkin and losing to the likes of Saunders or Jacobs. If you lose to those guys, you’re in bad shape. If Eubank Jr. loses to a talent like Golovkin, then it’s not a big deal because he’s seen as the best right now in the 160lb division. Everyone loses to Triple G, including Saul “Canelo” Alvarez if he ever steps it up to take that fight in the future.