By Jeff Aranow: Frank Warren, the promoter for WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, says he offered the highly ranked #2 WBA, #2 WBC Chris Eubank Jr. (22-1, 17 KOs) a fight against Saunders, but he never heard back from him again. Warren doesn’t understand how Eubank Sr. and Eubank Jr. could walk away from the Saunders fight, and then turn around and fight Tom Doran (17-0, 7 KOs) next on June 25.
Warren further doesn’t understand how or why Eubank Jr. is calling out Golovkin, because he sees that as a fight that has zero chance of happening. However, if it does happen, Warren sees Eubank Jr. getting knocked out by Golovkin.
Warren thinks Golovkin would definitely KO Eubank Jr. if that fight eventually happens. Eubank Jr’s promoter Eddie Hearn says he’s looking to put the fight together between Eubank Jr. and Golovkin for later this year.
“The youngster [Eubank Jr.] keeps calling out Billy Joe Saunders, then they’re calling out Golovkin, and now he’s fighting that young lad from Wales [Tom Doran],” said Warren to IFL TV. “What are you talking about him for when you walked away as the WBA interim from [Daniel] Jacobs. That’s what he did, didn’t he? He was offered a straight fight with Billy Joe Saunders; no options, not nothing, get it on. I never heard from him again. And then he calls out Golovkin. What is he doing? He’s fighting a guy from Wales on the undercard of that show. It’s bull [expletive]. It’s an insult to the fans. He doesn’t want it. He does not want the fight. Why does Chris Eubank Sr. not want the fight? I’m talking about Billy Joe Saunders and Eubank. I’m talking about Chris Eubank doesn’t want his golden goose roasted. Billy Joe Saunders against Golovkin, that’s a tough fight for Billy Joe Saunders. He ain’t defended his title yet. He says he wants it, and I know he wants it. That’s all about money. If the money is not right, then I can’t let it happen. It’s got to be right, because he’s seriously going into the lion’s den. He’s fighting the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He’s going in there with him. The bottom line is that fight is a tough fight. If you’re going in with a guy, then you have got to be paid for it,” said Warren.
It was a very unusual move by Chris Eubank Jr. in beating Gary O’Sullivan by a 7th round stoppage last December to put himself in position to fight WBA World middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs, but instead of taking that fight like many boxing fans expected him to, choosing instead to fight British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell for his domestic level title last March. It was a backwards career move that Eubank Jr. made. It’s like having the option of becoming a general in the arm, but instead opting to stay a private first class.
Only Eubank Jr. and his father Eubank Sr. know why they made the strange move to go after the British title against Blackwell instead of progressing to a title shot against WBA champion Jacobs. Now Eubank Jr. is choosing to defend the British title against Tom Doran, a domestic fighter from Wales. Eubank Jr. is doing this at the same time he’s talking about wanting to fight Golovkin. Why would Eubank Jr. be fighting Doran if he wanted to fight Golovkin? Doran is not the type of fighter you would want to face if you were hoping to progress to the No.1 fighter in the middleweight division in Golovkin.
Speaking of Golovkin vs. Eubank Jr., Warren said, “You know how much chance that fight has of happening? Zero. It will never ever happen. Why would it happen? He’s [Eubank Jr.] going to get beat. He’s going to get knocked out. Fight Billy Joe Saunders. He will get knocked out. There’s no doubt about it. It’s the same as if his old man had fought him. He would get knocked out. Don’t call out Golovkin. He should have fought Billy Joe Saunders. What’s he going to do? He’s fighting for the British title,” said Warren about Eubank Jr.
It would seem that Eubank Jr. isn’t interested in facing Golovkin or Saunders. We’ll know for sure in the future whether Eubank Jr. is interested in facing those guys are not. If Golovkin is still defending his Britisht tile a year from now, then you would have to conclude that he was just name-dropping when he was talking about wanting to fight Golovkin. As for Saunders, I don’t think Eubank Jr. wants to fight him a second time.