Middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr is considered a decent Middleweight. He carries raw power in both hands, possesses some likable skills, and won’t ever be short of fans due to his showboating tenancies. But would he beat Middleweight titan and destroyer, Gennady Golovkin?
Let’s not be too harsh on the young up-and-comer, and instead just say that, right now, the answer is a resounding no. But, there is one man brave enough to tell the world otherwise. Not Eubank Jr himself, but his equally outspoken father/trainer, Chris Eubank Sr.
“If I can see it now with him [Eubank Jr] and GGG then obviously I’m going to push and steer him towards that because he’s the big name and the guy,” Eubank Sr told The Daily Star.
“I think Jr destroys him. I just do. He destroys him in my view. I think Jr destroys him. He’s slow and he’s easy to hit. Those are his weaknesses. He’s not the pound-for-pound [best fighter on the planet].”
We’re all entitled to our opinions, I guess. And so is the former Middleweight champ, Eubank Sr. But the comments seem a little amusing at best. Right now, especially. So for the record, where are Eubank Jr (19-1, 14 KO) and Golovkin (33-0, 30 KO) in their Middleweight careers?
Golovkin, also known as ‘GGG’, is our No.1 Middleweight and No.4 Pound for Pound boxer, set to take on No.5 Middleweight David Lemieux on October 17th. The bout will see Golovkin’s WBA ‘Super’ belt and Lemieux’s IBF variety on the line.
Eubank Jr recently broke into our Middleweight rankings, filling in the No.10 spot. He is at least considered a contender in Boxing Base’s eyes. But a ‘GGG’ beater? Nah.
The popular Brit lost a Split Decision to Billy Joe Saunders last November, a fighter he clearly struggled with for the first half of the fight. Eubank Jr has since rebounded with a knockout win over Dmitry Chudinov (brother of 168-pounder, Fedor Chudinov), however.
Eubank Jr and Golovkin just seem a million miles apart right now, both in terms of experience, skill, and probably a lot of other things I won’t bother getting into. In a year or two, we’ll know just how good Eubank Jr is.
One thing we can probably count on is that Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, who recently signed the 26-year-old, will be guiding him to the top carefully.
Mark Phillips is the Head Staff Writer/Assistant Editor at BoxingBase.com, and provides worldwide news, coverage and analysis – he can be reached via our Contact Page.
