The Eubank mission – Why the time is now after tragedy
Through heartache and hope Chris Eubank Jr will return to the ring on Saturday night knowing that he must harness his emotions to usher in his career-defining golden years.
Eubank Jr believes world championship fights against some of boxing’s biggest names are within his grasp as he prepares to headline the first BOXXER promotion, live on Sky Sports.
There is unthinkable tragedy engulfing British boxing’s most famous family, and it is through his grief that Eubank Jr must persevere to ensure an essential victory. His lifetime’s body of work is depending on it.
Sebastian Eubank, one of Eubank Senior’s five children and brother to Eubank Jr, died just two months ago. Aged 29 and after recently becoming a father himself, Sebastian had “a massive heart attack whilst in the sea”. Later “evidence of a pre-existing heart condition” was discovered. He left behind his wife Salma and son Raheem.
Sebastian had gone into the family business – he was a professional boxer and MMA fighter.
And it was through the addictive solitude of the fight game that Chris Eubank Jr recovered from crying for the first time since he was a 12-year-old boy.
“Home sweet home,” he smiles to Sky Sports. “I love it.”
Eubank Jr is back in Brighton after spending most of the past two years in Florida training with the boxing legend Roy Jones Jr, a partnership facilitated by Eubank Senior’s contacts book.
“My old gym, I’ve trained here for years. It’s nice to be back in an environment that I know so well.”
There is something so emotional about this Eubank fight, the latest in a legacy started by his father in the mid-80s in Atlantic City.
Eubank Jr is now a decade into a career which was initially treated with scepticism. His father had previously claimed that he would never let his sons go into boxing.
“Time flies,” Eubank Jr says. “I’ve had 32 fights – some I don’t even remember. I’m happy with how my career has gone, and how it’s now going.
“I’ve had big fights, proud wins. I have made my mark on the sport. There are a lot bigger fights to come, and more of a legacy to build.
“I am always looking for a chance to be involved in those legacy fights. Fights that people will talk about for years.
“They will happen in the next 12 months.
“We hunt down the biggest fish. And there are a lot of big fish, including myself. We have to keep swimming.”
Gennadiy Golovkin and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez are the marquee names that Eubank Jr is chasing.
Billy Joe Saunders and Liam Williams are intriguing domestic rivalries. Ryota Murata and Demetrius Andrade are world champions whose belts could be targeted.
Eubank Jr is confidently aware of his own status as one of British boxing’s biggest draws. He is regularly in the limelight, recently a beaming presence on TV show Gogglebox, but those within the boxing world know he is also one of the sport’s hardest trainers.
“Look at social media and you may think the public don’t like me as a fighter or a human being,” he reflects.
“But spend a week with me to see how it is when I walk around the streets anywhere in Britain? It is a completely different story.
“I just seem to have a very dedicated army of haters – they don’t give up, they don’t let up, and sometimes they do drown out my fans on social media. But not in person. When I’m in public, and I’m not lying, I never have any issues with anyone. It is all pictures, love, handshakes. I never have anyone say anything bad.
“At the beginning of my career people thought it was probably a gimmick, that I was only in the sport to make a couple of bucks, then I would sail off onto Love Island or one of these reality TV shows. Ten years later I am still here, kicking ass.
“I have turned a lot of non-believers and haters into fans but, to this day, there are people that aren’t behind me.
“All I can do is to keep winning.
“One thing that I learned early in my career is that you can’t please everybody. There will always be people who don’t like you. So as long as you are happy with yourself, that’s the way to live your life.”
Eubank Jr now says about Jones Jr: “He has an aura. That is what drew me to him. This is why we work so well together – because I know he is the real deal.
“Everything he says is tried and tested. He is a master.
“To have a man like that in my corner?”
Eubank Jr corrects himself, perhaps remembering the importance of his father in the early part of his own career.
“I’ve had a man like that in my corner for many years. But to have another asset? The combination is a great one.”
Eubank Jr outpointed Marcus Morrison last May and says about Saturday’s fight: “My mind-set is to implement the things I have learned from Roy. To keep learning, keep improving. To keep to the game-plan and the strategy that we have built for this fight.
“And to get ourselves ready for a big fight in December.
“This is the fight which will put me in tune to challenge.
“I know my ability and believe what I can do.”
