Chris Eubank Jr: Time to Change

Chris Eubank Jr: Time to Change

Chris Eubank Jr turned 29 today and while he is hardly in the twilight of his career, it’s still nevertheless a crucial stage of his boxing career.

It was announced yesterday that Eubank Jr will return on the undercard of the George Groves Callum Smith World Boxing Super Series super middleweight final later this month.

JJ Mcdonagh will be in the opposite corner when the enigmatic Eubank Jr makes his return to the ring, his first fight since losing to George Groves earlier this year.

Eubank Jr has talent but hasn’t really delivered, certainly to the level of the hype that’s been around him.

The revelation that came before the Groves fight, although hardly a surprising one, that Eubank Jr pretty much runs his own training almost certainly highlights the route of the problem.

The Brighton man hasn’t really developed as much as he should have had. Both his professional defeats to Groves and Billy Joe Saunders were so worryingly similar. An inability to handle a jab and movement and problems with his own balance, that while not irreversible are major concerns if Eubank Jr is to get to the very top of the sport.

Eubank Jr looks good against an opponent who doesn’t move but at the top end of the rankings opponents are rarely that obliging.

The Groves fight told us what we probably already knew, that middleweight would be a smart move, Eubank Jr is clearly too small for super middleweight. But the major worry is will Eubank Jr accept that he needs to improve his own style, and work on the obvious flaws, I have my doubts he will.

If Eubank Jr doesn’t change when he gets another opportunity a 3rd defeat looks inevitable which would be a shame because if you strip away the rawness there is actually a very good fighter waiting to come out.