By Scott Gilfoid: Chris Eubank Sr. says that negotiations with IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and his promoter Tom Loeffler will be starting in 1 ½ weeks for a fight between him and Chris Eubank Jr. Eubank Sr. seems to feel pretty confident that he’ll be able to line up either Golovkin or IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale as an opponent for Eubank Jr. after his recent 10th round knockout win over IBO 168lb champion Renold Quinlan last Saturday night at the Olympia in London, England.
Eubank Jr. was able to use his high volume punch attack to force a stoppage in the 10th when referee Howard John Foster stopped the fight. Eubank Jr. didn’t show much in the way of punching power.
Quinlan appeared to be the harder puncher of the two. The main thing that Eubank Jr. had going for him was his work rate. Quinlan didn’t seem capable of throwing more than a small handful of punches each round. I’m not sure what the problem was for him, but he basically gave the win to Eubank Jr. by failing to throw punches.
I don’t think Golovkin is going to have time to fight Eubank Jr. in 2017. The Kazakhstan fighter is pretty much booked up through September. If there is going to be a fight between Golovkin and Eubank Jr., it would have to potentially take place in December when Golovkin has an opening in his schedule. Even then, the fight would need to be negotiated, and I’m not sure that it would be.
Eubank Jr. said this to IFL TV about him wanting Golovkin, James DeGale and Billy Joe Saunders for his next fight:
“I’m the champion. I’m the new kid on the block and I’m coming for every other kid now,” said Eubank Jr. “Everybody, DeGale, Saunders, and Golovkin. All those names, they’re all on my hit list. Now I’ve got the ticket to chase those guys. DeGale, you know you’re getting it. Step up. We’ve got the platform. We’ve got ITV. There are no excuses now. I’m here. I’m the champion. You’ve got a championship belt. Let’s go for it. I don’t want the other one [tooth]. I want the whole set. I want the whole row on my mantelpiece. That’s what I want. I’ve got a spot dedicated to James DeGale’s teeth on my mantelpiece. Within the next few months, I’ve going to have the set of your teeth to put there and your belt. Somebody has got to step up. I’m ready. I’m back in the gym tomorrow. I’m not hiding. This is my ticket to ride here. People were telling me, ‘You can’t call out guys, because these are the champions. You’re not a champion. You’re stepping in the line. You’ve got to earn your right.’ This is my right, right here. We’ve got the platform. There are no excuses now. Those fights can be made. All one of them has to do is say, ‘Let’s go.’ So we’ll see whose man enough to step up,” said Eubank Jr.
The fact that DeGale hasn’t spoken up in response to being called out by Eubank Jr., it suggests that there’s no real interest on his part for the fight. One problem that would likely be a show stopper for a fight between DeGale and Eubank Jr. from happening is the problem with which network would show the fight. If DeGale is mainly fighting on Sky at this point in his career, I don’t know whether he would want to give that up in order to fight Eubank Jr. on ITV.
The other problem is that I don’t see a fight between them being a big money fight on ITV. Eubank Jr. isn’t a big name in the UK. He needs more experience against top level fighters for him to become a star. Eubank Jr. has arguably stunted his own career since his loss to Billy Joe Saunders in 2014. Instead of stepping it up after that loss, Eubank Jr. has fought the following fighters: Quinlan, Tom Doran, Nick Blackwell, Gary O’Sullivan, Tony Jeter and Dmitry Chudinov. Those are not big names. Eubank Jr. put himself in position to fight Daniel Jacobs after his win over O’Sullivan in December 2015. Instead of going for the Jacobs fight, Eubank Jr. opted to fight Blackwell. That was a very weird move.
In response to his father Eubank Sr. saying that DeGale isn’t a punk, Eubank Sr. said, “I don’t know that. I don’t know why you keep saying that. I don’t know. I’ll show you how much a punk he is in a couple of months’ time. I’m coming. I’m coming for everybody. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. This year is my year. I want the big fights. I want the big names. Let’s see who steps up. Nobody is taking this belt, but I’m taking our belt,” said Eubank Jr.
“What can they say?” said Eubank Sr. “They’re not going to fight us? But the money is here. ITV, they have the numbers. It’ll be easy for the ones that bought it to do it again next time. This is the new money. This is the money Eubank. You think Money Mayweather made some money. Watch what’s going to happen. I gave him [DeGale] a chance to come forward, but he didn’t. What can he say? We’re coming for you. We’ve been seasoning you, marinating you. He’s got the kitchen. I’ve got the utensils. We’re going to cook you. We’re warming him up. James, we’re coming for you. Formally, we’ll be in touch on Monday. We don’t play. If they don’t like the belt, then they can’t dislike the money. ITV is the money,” said Eubank Sr.
Speaking about Gennady Golovkin and his promoter Tom Loeffler, Eubank Sr. said, “We’ll be meeting with them in the next week and a half. We’re having s direct conversation and it’s open. What’s been happening in the past with these others, with these creepy crawlies, the people get in the way and trying to use it to get their kids through school. It’s harsh but it’s true. They’re no longer in the way now. The fights can be made and they will be made. Golovkin is no punk. James DeGale, you’re no punk. I know that,” said Eubank Sr.
“[Eubank Jr. is] Just a hard worker that throws a lot of punches,” said Quinlan to Fighthype.com after his loss to Eubank Jr. last Saturday. “He didn’t faze me one bit. He doesn’t have the power. I don’t think he’s got the power to beat Golovkin,” said Quinlan.
“Great fight. He did what he had to do,” said Ward about Eubank Jr. in his win over Quinlan. “I’ll be back soon. The only thing left for him to do is to get his shot. He can fight the Quillin’s of the world, but I don’t think he wants to do that. He’s calling out the big names. Now he just has to get his opportunity, and then we’ll see what he really has. You don’t know. None of us do until he gets that shot. But I think he’s got the goods. I think if he stays focused and keeps working, he can be on top for a long time,” said Ward about Eubank Jr.