Froch: Eubank Jr. doesn’t want Golovkin fight

By Boxing News - 06/27/2016 - Comments

froch763

By Scott Gilfoid: Former world champion Carl Froch has serious doubts whether #2 WBA, #2 WBC contender Chris Eubank Jr. really wants the fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Froch suspects that Eubank Jr. is just saying stuff about wanting the GGG fight, but won’t go ahead and take it.

Froch thinks it’s too soon for the 26-year-old Eubank Jr. to take on an experienced guy like Golovkin, because he sees it as a potentially dangerous fight for Junior. Froch says he would prefer that Eubank Jr. continue to defend his British middleweight title until he wins it outright, and then he should go after the European middleweight title.

From there, Froch would like to see Eubank Jr. fight in an eliminator bout to get a crack at one of the middleweight world titles. Froch didn’t say which champion Eubank Jr. should go after, but I would have to assume that it would be WBO belt holder Billy Joe Saunders, because he’s arguably the weak link among the middleweight champions at the moment. Eubank Jr. vs. Daniel Jacobs or Golovkin would be very tough fights for him.

The Golovkin-Eubank Jr. fight, if it happens, will likely take place in September.

“It’s a very interesting fight, because I’ve said it before, when you look at Golovkin’s record, there’s not any one particular name that jumps out as a world class or proven world class fighter, because of that, you can’t write off anybody against him,” said Froch to IFL TV. “They say something about Billy Joe Saunders fighting him, and you might laugh at that, but why can’t Chris Jr. and Saunders get in with him? I don’t think it’s a fight that should happen straight away, not because I don’t think [Eubank Jr.] would win the fight, I just don’t think he’s quite ready for that level yet. He’s a British champion. I’d like to see a British champion defend the title and win the belt outright. He could then step up to European or after that a world title, maybe have an eliminator, maybe not. But if he starts beating the drum now for the Golovkin fight, he knows it’s not going to happen for two years anyway, he’s saying all the right things. He doesn’t want the Golovkin fight in my opinion. I don’t think he wants to fight Golovkin next. I don’t think he should. Don’t ask me whether I think he’ll win or not, because it will just open a can of worms for all the lovers and haters, so I’m not going to say what I think about it. It’s a fight that will be very, very interesting. You’re talking about it happening in September. If it happens in September, I’ll be shocked. I’ll give Eubank Jr. a mass heap of credit, because he deserves it for taking on such a dangerous fight. I won’t give you a prediction,” said Froch.

I have a feeling that Froch is right about Eubank Jr. not really wanting the Golovkin fight right now. Eubank Jr. is definitely saying all the right things to get the attention from the media by dropping Golovkin’s name any chance he can get. I believe Eubank Jr. is taking a short cut to the top of the sport by talking up the Golovkin fight rather than actually taking it. Name dropping is a technique to put one self at the same level of the popular person that is being mentioned to try and raise one’s own status without having actually earned that status. Name dropping works quite frequently, which is probably why it’s used so often by fighters as a short cut to become popular if only for a short time without them having to earn the popularity based on achievement. In looking at what Eubank Jr. has done in his career, you can’t say that he rates as a top fighter.

YouTube video

Look at the guys that Eubank Jr. has fought recently in Nick Blackwell and Tom Doran. Those are or were 2nd tier fighters, and not world class operators. Beating those type of fighters aren’t what you would like to see from a fighter that is calling out a talent like Golovkin. You would rather see Eubank Jr. test himself first against a good middleweight like Daniel Jacobs, Tureano Johnson, Andy Lee or David Lemieux. We’re not seeing that though. We’re seeing Eubank Jr. go from beating domestic level fighter Doran to now calling for a fight against Golovkin. Eubank Jr. skipped the entire top 15 contenders completely in trying to get the fight against GGG.

“I think it’s a high risk fight for Eubank Jr.,” said Matchroom Sport promoter Barry Hearn to IFL TV. “I would rather see the fight later. I know that Chris [Eubank Sr.] is confident that Junior can beat Golovkin. I’m not, but at the same time this is the money business, and that is a huge, huge fight. I think it shows a terrific amount of balls for the young Eubank Jr. to even to even be thinking about taking it on. If it happens, and it certainly looks like it could happen, we’re in for a treat, and that’s what boxing fans want. On a scale of 100, I’m 95% certain Golovkin wants the fight. I’m 55% sure Eubank Jr. will take it, but prove me wrong; sign,” said Hearn.

YouTube video