Eddie Hearn believes Chris Eubank Jr. would have a tough time beating the world champions at 160 and 168.
Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, was recently asked to evaluate the résumé and ability of Eubank, who will be taking on Hearn’s charge, the welterweight Conor Benn, in a highly anticipated catchweight bout on Oct. 8 at The O2 Arena in London on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
Hearn thinks the catchweight, reportedly set at 156 pounds, will favor the career middleweight and super middleweight Eubank. However, Hearn believes Benn has the firepower and skill level to overtake Eubank, whom Hearn believes would not be able to defeat the likes of 168-pound undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez, WBC middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo, or WBA, IBF middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin.
“If you’re looking at wins, Chris Eubank Jr. beat a faded James DeGale,” Hearn said on The DAZN Boxing show. “But he still beat a James DeGale. He had a good fight with George Groves. I know that George was injured at the end of the fight and going into that fight, but you know, I rate Eubank. I think he’s tough as granite. He’s got a great chin like his dad.
“But I don’t see him necessarily as an elite middleweight. I think he’s a world class middleweight, but I don’t believe he beats any of the good [fighters], the world champions at middleweight. I don’t think he beats Charlo, Golovkin, of course, Canelo, of course, but listen, it’s a massive fight for him.”
Eubank-Benn was announced earlier this week after weeks of speculation. While there is no title at stake in this fight, Hearn believes the winner will be poised to move on to even bigger possibilities. For Eubank, that could mean a stadium-level fight against Golovkin or Alvarez.
“You talk about Conor Benn winning this fight, if Eubank wins this fight, I think he can fight a Gennadiy Golovkin in the UK or a Canelo Alvarez at Wembley,” Hearn said. “So it’s a massive fight for both [fighters].”
