By Tim Fletcher: As the saying goes ‘the rich get richer.’ This fits perfectly with the new signing by British promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport promotional company of WBA interim middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr. (19-1, 14 KOs) on Friday.
The addition of the 26-year-old Eubank Jr. gives Hearn a virtual monopoly of the best fighters in the UK, thanks to his contract with Sky Sports. Hearn is luring all the top fighters to his stable, and Eubank Jr. is just the latest of what will likely continue to be a flood of fighters coming to him.
Hearn has already added Eubank Jr. to the October 24th Kell Brook vs. Diego Chaves card next month from the Sheffield Arena, in Sheffield, UK. Eubank Jr’s opponent isn’t known as of now, but it’s not likely to be anyone particularly good considering that it’s short notice with only a month to go before the fight date. Hearn has also added Eubank Jr. to the December 12th Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte fight card at the O2 Arena in London. The opponent isn’t known for that date either, but it might be a decent one given that there’s still three months to go before the card.
Eubank Jr. will have Adam Booth as one of his coaches with his team. It’s unclear what capacity Booth will have. You can imagine it will be as a tactical adviser, which is something that super middleweight George Groves could really use right about now after his loss to WBC 168lb champion Badou Jack on September 12th.
“I’m very excited to be working with Chris Eubank Jr. I’ve enjoyed seeing his career evolve and now it’s time to take it to the next level,” Hearn said to skysports.com. “He is an outstanding young fighter and the story tells itself. I spent most of my childhood following his father all over the world and watching him and my own dad go on a remarkable journey together. I’m excited to go on that same journey and I believe even more is possible. It’s funny how life works out, the British public should be very excited about Chris Eubank Jr,” Hearn said.
Eubank Jr. defeated Dmitry Chudinov by a 12th round knockout in his last fight in February to capture the interim WBA super middleweight title in a mostly one-sided fight. Before that. Eubank Jr. lost a controversial 12 round split decision to Billy Joe Saunders last year in November 2014. It was a winnable fight for Eubank Jr., but he fought without any passion or energy until the last six rounds of the contest.
When Eubank Jr. finally did get his offense going, he was able to dominate the fading Saunders with ease. If Eubank Jr. had only started his attack earlier in the fight. That’s where a tactical guru like Booth could really help Eubank Jr.
If Booth is able to speak to Eubank Jr. in between rounds to give him some instructions, it’s possible he’ll be able to beat guys like Saunders. But it remains to be seen if Eubank Sr. will allow Booth to speak with Eubank Jr. in between rounds.
Eubank Jr. believes that he’s got what it takes to beat Golovkin.
“I personally see weaknesses in his [Golovkin] boxing style and I believe when I get my opportunity, I’ll be able to exploit those weaknesses,” Eubank Jr. said to skysports.com.
Eubank Jr. may get a chance to fight Golovkin in the near future if the two fighters can keep winning. They’ll eventually run out of opponents and will need to face each other. But that will also depend on whether Hearn will let Eubank Jr. take the fight with Golovkin.
Hearn is usually very careful about the opponents that he lets his fighters face. We still haven’t seen IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook face anyone dangerous during his time with Hearn as his promoter other than his one fight against Shawn Porter. Hearn might not let Eubank Jr. ever face Golovkin.
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