By Edward Chaykovsky

According to Chris Eubank Sr., father and manager of Chris Eubank Jr. (23-1, 18KOs), he is very frustrated with WBC/IBO/WBA/IBF middleweight king Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (35-0, 32KOs).

There were ongoing discussions for Golovkin and Eubank Jr. to face each other on September 10th at the O2 Arena in London.

The Eubanks were having trouble reaching an agreement with their own promoter, Eddie Hearn. Tired of waiting, Golovkin agreed to face IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-0, 25KOs), who is moving up by thirteen pounds for the contest.

Because of the Golovkin opportunity falling through, Eubank Jr.'s next ring return might be a mandatory defense of the British title against Tommy Langford (17-0, 6KOs). Langford's promoter won a recent purse bid and plans to stage the fight in the fall.

Eubank Sr. believes Golovkin took the easy way out from their negotiations by accepting a fight with Brook. He feels the fight is uneven, with Brook being a smaller, overmatched opponent. Eubank Sr. feels Golovkin has lost a lot of respect by going in this direction.

“We think he's running scared. This is Gennedy Golovkin,” Eubank Sr. said to The Express. “We think he's running scared because I don't know how he can choose a fighter who is two weights beneath himself. It's something out of a comic book, it really is. They can't be serious.

“They call him the best fighter in the world. Junior is British champion, yet they've gone for a guy who is 13 pounds lighter. It's not fair because my view is why would you do that if you want to respect other people? It's not just about defending your championship, you want to earn respect of the boxing fraternity and the public at large. You can hardly do that by fighting people who are not in your weight class.

“He certainly has lost respect in the boxing fraternity. In the fraternity no one respects that, but they will go along with it. It is what it is. It's been agreed. The people will accept what's given to them. But within the boxing fraternity it isn't seen as a match that is fair. I've heard it said from boxing aficionados that it's tantamount to cradle snatching. He’s fighting someone who is like a toddler - that's how it's seen in the boxing world.”