Deja Vu? Can Eubank Jr Bring Back Father’s Magic Tonight?

You cannot make statements like “he is the best in the world right now, he could beat Gennady Golovkin” without some sort of comeuppance or retribution coming your way.

And it would have been so much better had Chris Eubank Jr and Sr not looked so sheepish when it did end up staring them in the face, be careful what you wish for, comes to mind.

Of course I am talking about Billy Joe Saunders fighting Chris Eubank Jr tonight in a domestic dust up that hopefully lives up to the excitement, which, let’s be honest, last week’s Tony Bellew vs. Nathan Cleverly rematch did not.

Let’s get this straight, I think Chris Eubank Jr, and to a lesser extent Sr, are great for boxing; you love to hate them. Eubank Sr was a master at it when he was boxing and he has trained his son to be that arrogant for the media; he must have done.

They are a strange pair, Sr taking the role of manager/trainer and leaving all the flashy boxing to Jr. and for as long Jr will say he does not want to be like his dad in the ring, the stalking, the posing, the vacant, pompous stares, he sure acts a lot like him.

I honestly would not be surprised if he entered the ring against Billy Joe Saunders to Tina Turner’s “Simply The Best”.
When coming through the ranks, Sr had lined up a load of victims for Jr to look good against, and the bravado and talk after has been comical to say the least; claiming to be the best in the world after knocking out someone you have never heard of.
Jr does, however, have talent, you see it in flashes but that cannot really be judged until it is put to the test, Billy Joe Saunders will do exactly that…and some, and if he doesn’t, then at least we know what we are dealing with and that we could have a legitimate world title contender.

In Saunders, you have a well-schooled southpaw with a good amateur background who is slick in movement both defensively and offensively, he may not be not a concussive puncher but he has a 55% KO ratio and is currently the British, Commonwealth and European champion.

Saunders has had 20 fights whereas Eubank has had 18, but it’s the quality of the opposition that’s different. Saunders had his fair share of fodder at the beginning of his career but has also beaten good operators that have tested him like Nick Blackwell, Bradley Pryce, Matthew Hall and John Ryder.

The only criticism one would have about Saunders at the moment is that he doesn’t always train like a demon, sometimes he can look a bit chubby at the weight, compared to the ripped physique of Eubank.

But apparently, Saunders has let nothing slip for this fight. He has been ready to go weight wise for a while and has had the most perfect training camp going.

He really, really wants to do a job on Eubank, and the best part is that Eubank knows it. And I don’t know if the tricks played by Sr at the beginning of this fight announcement have done him any favours here, not turning up for press conferences, organising press conferences when Saunders was out of the country, signing to fight someone else in the meantime, whilst Jr might want it, Sr doesn’t.

Is it that Eubank Sr is playing media games? Protecting his investment/son? Getting into Saunders’ head?

Word on the street is that Eubank is mustard, and has been sparring Carl Froch and holding his own, Adam Booth says he is the real deal, and if Booth says it, I am inclined to believe it when it comes to boxing but I cannot see Billy Joe Saunders losing this and I actually think it will make for a great fight with Saunders testing Eubank and getting a points victory at the end of the day.