“My history would tell you that I would always chose the most efficient route for Junior to get to the top, for him to get the number 1 in the world (Gennady Golovkin) and then work backwards. Get the number 1 first”

These words echoed by Chris Eubank Sr ,after his son comfortably vanquished of contender Tom Doran in the first defence of his British middleweight title, almost defy common boxing mentality and convention. Going from fighting against the 5th ranked Middleweight in Britain to fighting arguably the 5th best fighter on the planet? No chance.

But then again, convention and normality are not and probably never will be associated with the Eubank’s – and that is a massive part of their attraction.

There was nothing conventional of Eubank Sr’s rise to success, whether that be the obnoxious showmanship, controversy and theatrics which surrounded every promotion and battle, combined with 26 amateur fights and then a blitz through the legion of “road-sweeper’s” (to coin bitter rival Nigel Benn’s phrase) before he shocked the world and knocked Nigel Benn out and won the WBO Middleweight title in November 1990. So this leap could be seen to mirror Jr’s dare for greatness. Add that to similar levels of showmanship and theatrics (despite swapping Tina Turner for Dr Dre for the ring entrances – I approve of this decision), 26 amateur fights, a blitz through lower level opponents and then a leap to world level and a much more accomplished opponent.

But all comparisons end there.

Chris Eubank Jr, dubbed “The Next Generation” was meant to have met his Nigel Benn in November 2014 when he faced his own bitter rival (and current WBO Middlewight Champion ironically enough) Billy Joe Saunders for the British and European middleweight championship in one of the most anticipated and evenly matched domestic fights for many years. However this night exposed the then 25-year old’s inexperience in a split but mostly accepted decision loss, as he was outwitted by his foe’s ring intelligence, movement and boxing fundamentals, as Jr was dealt with a cold dose of the reality of the sport. His father had no similar hiccups before he reached the summit of his ambitions. Negotiations for a rematch fell through (several times), but to his credit, Eubank Jr rebounded with 5 straight victories, all by knockout/stoppage. The fourth, a hellacious scrap with Nick Blackwell for the British Middleweight title, brought with it a well publicised and near tragic aftermath, but illustrating my sentiments on that should be saved for another day.

Through god’s will or aligning of the stars, we’ve somehow ended up in a position where a showdown between Eubank Jr and consensus Middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin looks imminent for early September. Dominant, intimidating and undefeated, Golovkin represents a leap in class here by Jr which trumps the leap Sr made 26 years ago, and trumps it by quite a distance. This fight only became a conceivable option because the rest of the division has either felt the mercy of his devastating power and his underappreciated in ring craft or has ran in the other direction (Si,mi hermano Canelo) to avoid such an experience.

So IF (and I stress IF) this fight is made, then Eubank Jr deserves all the credit in the world. For as much as we are salivating over an era where we have a dozen British World Champions, the sour note to that symphony is that the majority of those successes came through the modern “conventional” means – Vacant title belts, fighting weak, unproven opposition or even in the case of Bristol’s Lee Haskins (IBF Bantamweight Champion), being handed a title on a weighing scale as a result of his opponent missing weight just over 24 hours before fight night.Such a step up by Jr sets the tone for what should be expected from all fighters, desiring to tackle the best and irrepressible lust to be number one.

But to be purely blunt yet pragmatic here, there is absolutely nothing to suggest that the British Middleweight Champion doesn’t get soundly beaten here. Eubank relies on natural athleticism and speed in temporary absence of elite boxing skill and ring intelligence. The Brighton born fighter has a high work ethic and great physical gifts which serve to give him a high ceiling and potential in the game, but he has fundamental flaws in both his offensive and defensive game which haven’t visibly appeared to be remedied since the defeat to Saunders and he hasn’t operated anywhere near the level required to gauge an accurate perception of his world standing despite his high rankings. On paper, Eubank Sr, as the guider of his son’s career would be making the greatest father son sacrifice since biblical times if he allows Jr to cross paths with the 34 year old Middleweight destroyer.

But, the sadist in boxing fans (myself included), loves this matchup.

Why so? Well, for all his flaws, Chris Eubank Jr is arguably box office material. To add to the inherited theatrics and showmanship, his style is exciting and puts backsides on seats.Fast combinations to the head and body, power punches resembling something out of the Street Fighter or Tekken game series and a relentless desire to dislodge his opponent’s head from its shoulders. Who doesn’t love to see a guy like that in action? Admittedly Eubank’s offensive style risks him getting his own head colliding with the multitude of missed penalties from Euro 2016 in orbit, as a result of a vicious Gennady Golovkin left hand – but to many who aren’t fans of the way the Eubank’s conduct themselves, that would come as a welcome sight (don’t shoot the messenger)

Also, the opportunity to have a super champion grace British shores in his physical prime, comes once in a blue moon. Gennady Golovkin has one of the highest KO to victory ratio’s in the entire sport, has an ocean deep amateur pedigree involving over 300 wins and is held in high esteem by almost everyone associated with the sport of boxing.

Finally, the Eubank’s have this infectious level of self confidence which couples as obscene delusion. Perhaps consistent in most guys willing to step into a squared circle, but more vocalised by this Father-Son duo. They genuinely believe that the time is right for them to topple the Kazhakstan native and become the poster child of British boxing. Sr believes that his son’s quickness will be the key, as you seemingly cannot beat a guy who can throw 4 punches at the same speed as another guy throwing one. Such justification leaves me with raised eyebrows but from just briefly observing public opinion, the conviction and the unapologetic confidence which Sr radiates steers many away from logic and reality and makes them believe that Eubank Jr can do the impossible here. You just don’t know what to expect during the build up and on fight night. The intrigue is strangely gripping and the demand is high before any contracts have been signed.

So i speak for many when I say, Sign me up for some of this.

Championship Rounds

July is a relatively busy month for boxing, the Fury-Klitschko rematch may have been delayed but there are still several mouthwatering and high profile matchups like the Super Lightweight unification between Terrence Crawford and Viktor Postol in Las Vegas and Belfast’s Carl Frampton’s bid to win the WBA Featherweight title from fellow undefeated foe Leo Santa Cruz in New York, a title previously held by his manager and mentor Barry Mcguigan

Golovkin – Eubank would be the tip of the icerberg for what appears to be a stacked second half of 2016 in British and World boxing. Fights such as Anthony Crolla vs Jorge Linares are already set in stone, soon too be added with a welterweight unification between Kell Brook and Jessie Vargas (once the long winded negotiations process decides to end..), James Degale’s quest to unify the Super Middleweight division vs Badou Jack and the return of Anthony Joshua at the end of the year – just to name a few options on the provisional menu. Time will tell if everything comes together

Stay tuned for more boxing/general sport ramblings

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