The image of a lean but gaunt Chris Eubank Jr was seen far and wide after he ‘made weight’ for his aborted fight with Conor Benn in October.
The contest fell through after Benn tested positive twice for banned substances and the British Boxing Board of Control nixed the contest at the 11th hour.
Eubank, however, who had been set the task of weighing in at 157lbs for the contest followed through with his obligation despite not having to, and he posted the results on social media.
Many commented that Eubank looked vulnerable, but that is not something he strictly agreed with.
“I wouldn’t use the word vulnerable but I was weak, yeah,” Eubank admitted. “Everybody is weak after a weight cut. It wasn’t fun, it was tough. Especially doing it knowing I wasn’t going to get anything out of it afterwards. That was the hardest part, when you’re cutting those last few pounds for no reason, just to prove a point. It was grueling. But I would have got in that ring and I would have got the job done.”
Through the build-up, Eubank had promised and predicted that the cut would mean he would be at no better than 60 percent of his capabilities on fight night, and that is something he admits having made the weight and knowing what it took to get down to 157.
“Sixty percent?” he asked rhetorically, when questioned whether that’s what he would have been on the night. “Absolutely. And 60 percent would have been more than enough to take out Conor Benn.”
Eubank opens 2023 against Liam Smith Manchester in an excellent looking match on paper but he harbors grand plans for big fights beyond the Liverpool hardman.
For years, Eubank’s name has been mentioned with Gennady Golovkin’s. They nearly fought in 2016 when Sheffield’s Kell Brook stepped up in weight to take on the Kazakh great. Eight years on, the Golovkin contest in once the Brighton contender particularly wants.
“Triple G, that’s the fight,” said Eubank Jr. “That’s the fight that I want. The fight with Conor [Benn] is a huge fight and it’s a fight that needs to happen at some point, but the fight that’s more important for me personally is Golovkin. He has the belts. I want those belts.”
There are many who will say that Eubank has a better chance now against Golovkin that he would have seven years ago, but it’s a bout that Eubank insists he would have wanted years ago, and one he did want until it fell apart.
“The one regret of my career is that fight fell through when it was going to be made all those years ago, through no fault of my own,” Eubank said. “I was ready to go, but it didn’t happen and I have to make that right. He has those belts and there’s no one else in the division that people want to see him fight more than me. So, in 2023, that’s what we are going to be pushing for after the Smith fight.”
There is now a mixed emotion around the Benn fight. It would surely do great numbers, but first things first and Benn needs to show his innocence, get licensed and get ready all over again. Because of the names, it’s likely a fight that will always be ‘there’ – available to be made, some way, somehow – and Eubank is still keen for it to happen in the future.
“Yes, I’m interested in the Benn fight,” Eubank went on, talking about why he hopes it will happen down the line. “Now it’s personal. Now we have our own story, we have our own reasoning. It’s not just our old men fought and now we fight, now we have our own thing. We have our own beef, so absolutely that fight will happen at some point. When? I can’t tell you, but it will happen.”
Will Eubank make it down to 157, the agreed catchweight again?
“There’s not going to be any 157 anymore,” Eubank said. “He’s lost all his privileges.”
Eubank is spending the holiday period at home with family in Brighton and while he might not overindulge, he is looking forward to enjoying the festivities.
“I’m going to enjoy my Christmas and New Year,” Eubank continued. “Usually, I would train on Christmas Day but Liam just doesn’t scare me enough. I’m not missing out on anything for Liam Smith.”
Eubank says it with a mischievous grin but thinking of the holidays and his mind drifts to his brother Sebastian, who passed away in the summer of 2021. It was a loss that hit Chris hard and one he still feels today, particularly without his brother to share Christmas with.
“It’s always tough at this time of year and that’s why you’ve got to surround yourself with family, the ones that are with you and keep that bond, and that’s what we will be doing,” the middleweight contender concluded. “My brother’s painting is up on the gym wall, he watches me every day, and his son Raheem, I’m with him all the time, on the phone and going out to Dubai where he lives, so we will be thinking of him. Always.”
