Memo to Chris Eubank, SR: Get Over Yourself for the Sake of Your Son’s Boxing Career!

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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

There has been much written about the farce that was Gennady Golovkin, 35-0, 32 KO’s, Vs Chris Eubank, JR., 23-1, 18 KO’s. This was a fight that did NOT take off, according to reports, because of the outrageous demands of Chris Eubank, SR. Has this seriously affected the chances of Junior EVER managing to get a world title shot?

Well this morning that would appear to be the case. The Eubanks are with, for the moment, Matchroom under Barry and Eddie Hearn – ironically a father/son partnership that works very well. If you fall out with these boys then you could go across to the Frank Warren stable. Warren runs the obligatory rival to Matchroom and let me tell you there is little affection between these two giants.

Warren writes some pretty opinionated columns over here and this morning he has found a fan and thrown Eubank at it. Remembering some of his own dealings with the father he has reserved some strong words for the father. His suggestion is even that Junior has no idea what daddy is doing and may well have his career ruined by his meddling dad. To some extent the column comes close to suggesting there might even be some sympathy for his bitter enemies.

Let us skip aside the issues of father/son relationships in boxing and the rivalry of two commercial giants in this boxing firmament. Why is it important for Junior, or any boxer for that matter, to get the right advice and encouragement?

That is unfortunately what this boils down to. Eubank, JR. won a world level interim title and binned it. He came down to British level and seriously injured another fighter. He then defended the title he won at UK level and all that time had people talking of him taking on the biggest, baddest and most dangerous man on the planet whilst swatting away flies of prospects who were not fit to lace his boots; if you listen to his father.

You have to ask what sort of preparation was all that for meeting Golovkin?

For any fighter, and I have got to know a few guys at the beginnings of their careers, you hear the trust they place in “a team” around them. Having a team means there are multiple voices, opinions and people who have varied experiences. They all add to the mix. I have been a project manager for over 30 years and I know how important it is to ensure we have a mix of people and a range of views included – if we want to be successful.

Once a fighter gets onto the tongues of those who might want him to fight for titles the pathway for a UK based boxer includes an area title, national title, European and/or Commonwealth and then the various international/intercontinental brands before we get to full world honours. The politics of boxing is important because you can skip a few and still get to the top.

For Junior that meant skipping most of them and then going back to British title level. His fight for British, Commonwealth AND European honors had been the only loss on his record – against Billy Joe Saunders, 23-0, 12 KO’s. Warren uses negotiations for the rematch as the basis for much of his negative opinions of the Eubank stable.

Now the Eubanks may have exhausted that UK/European route simply because the two biggest promoters in the UK are not willing to work with their people. Adam Booth who had trained a number of very decent world level fighters had gone to train and join the camp at one point. Many eyebrows were raised – Booth has his own ego – and he then disappeared from the entourage without any explanation. Booth’s view of all this would be fascinating.

I have a funny feeling that Senior reckons that Junior is too big for his country. They may drape the Union Flag over themselves, his father may want to be known as English rather than Chris Eubank, SR. and almost all of their fights thus far may have been in the UK BUT I have a funny feeling they are headed one place.

For British fighters cracking the American market can be the Holy Grail. Just now the UK may have more world champions than the US but the sheer size of the States makes it a massive draw. If I am right I wish the US well. I know that we may think it is filled with eccentrics in fedoras but it strikes me that size can illuminate more than just how big things are. The next fight for Junior is going to be critical. Eddie Hearn of Matchroom has said he sees a big future for Junior; he just didn’t specify where…

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