By Dan Ambrose: If you were wondering why IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) is the one that will be facing IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) on September 10 instead of #2 WBA, #2 WBC 160lb contender Chris Eubank Jr. (23-1, 18 KOs), it’s because Eubank Jr. stalled when it came to signing the contract for the Golovkin fight.
According to Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler, the contract was presented to Eubank Jr., but he didn’t sign. The same contract was taken by Eubank Jr’s promoter Eddie Hearn and presented to Brook, and he immediately agreed to the contract and signed. When you snooze you lose, and Eubank Jr. just missed out on a life-changing fight and payday.
I don’t know what Eubank Jr. is going to be able to do for him to get a similar fight offer. Unless someone like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez shows interest in fighting Eubank Jr., he may have to settle for fighting a rematch against WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders in the future. When that can happen is anyone’s guess. Saunders may wind up defending his WBO title against Canelo in December.
“This is something that happens to us often,” Loeffler said to the latimes.com. “Opponents say they want to fight Gennady, but when it comes to signing … Eddie Hearn had a problem closing with Eubank. Kell Brook accepted the fight in one day.”
A lot of boxing fans had doubts that Eubank Jr. would sign for the Golovkin fight. Many of the fans believed that Eubank Jr. and his father Chris Eubank Sr. were only name dropping by mentioning Golovkin’s name repeatedly in order to get fame on the cheap rather than having to earn fame by going out and facing someone like that. The fans felt that Eubank Jr. would chicken out at the last moment and duck the fight.
Sept 10th at @TheO2 I will take on the most feared fighter on the planet @GGGBoxing – let's go UK 🇬🇧 #2weight #2time
— Kell Brook (@SpecialKBrook) July 8, 2016
We don’t know that Eubank Jr. ducked the fight per say, but it looks like he stalled when he should have been signing. Eubank Jr. may not have realized that when you deal with an A-side fighter like Golovkin, who has been jerked around by too many opponents in the past, you have a very small window to agree and sign the contract. If you don’t do that, then Golovkin and his promoter Loeffler are going to move on and go in another direction. They’ve learned the hard way that it doesn’t pay off to sit around and wait on fighters that have no real intentions in facing them.
I haven't been shown one contract since my fight with GGG was announced. I'm still ready & waiting to sign. Fighting Brook is a joke #2Small
— Chris Eubank Jr (@ChrisEubankJr) July 8, 2016
“Brook’s had a problem getting fights at welterweight as we have at middleweight, so it’s a perfect match … a throwback fight,” Loeffler said. “Gennady’s been disappointed by Saunders, disappointed that Eubank wouldn’t commit,” Loeffler said.
It’s too bad Eubank Jr. didn’t agree to the contract to fight Golovkin, because it was a real opportunity for him to get a career high payday. Eubank Jr. would have likely made millions for the Golovkin fight. The attention Eubank Jr. would have received from boxing would have been priceless. It’s just too bad he didn’t sign when he should have.
