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Chris Eubank Jr - the art of self-promotion, notoriety and bouncebackability
Chris Eubank Jr . is not for everyone. Some see the poker loving middleweight as boxing's equivalent of a three-card trickster.
However, in boxing, as in life, confidence is everything.
A pro since 2011, in terms of honours he has only won the lightly regarded International Boxing organisation (IBO) belts at middleweight and super-middleweight.
He also held the interim World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2021. Given the hype surrounding his pro debut back in the day he has probably under-achieved, certainly in terms of titles.
However, despite this he is set to be involved in one of the most lucrative fights of 2025 when he goes in against Conor Benn on April 26 , live on DAZN PPV.
Whatever your personal views on this fight, it underlines that boxing remains a capitalist juggernaut. A business capable of generating outlandish sums of money on any given night as long as the stars align.
The 34-3 (25 KO's) Brighton man is not on any ‘pound-for-pound’ list, and despite his 'Next Gen' nickname finds himself now himself very much in the winter of his career.
Ironically, the middleweight division is crying out for someone to make a move. For, while Gennady Golovkin hasn't officially announced his retirement, he has not fought since his trilogy encounter with Canelo Alvarez in September 2022 and recently turned 43.
With question marks surrounding IBF and WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, WBA boss Erislandy Lara and WBC Carlos Adames, it seems strange that Eubank Jr. has reached the age of 35 and not yet boxed for a ‘big four’ world title belt.
For some perspective at the same age his father - Chris Eubank Sr – had been retired for three years but had also reigned as a two-weight world champion and made 14 successful defences of his WBO super-middleweight title.
Yet while Eubank Jr. might be short on belts, he is certainly not short on confidence. Not every fighter is comfortable in the media spotlight, but this is where Chris comes alive.
Love him or loathe him, Eubank Jr. is one of the greatest self-promoters in sports today. Give him a few open media sessions with a live microphone and he will generate mountains of copy for the assembled media and intrigue aplenty.
Eubank Jr’s mind has always been sharper than his jab. He understands the business of boxing and that fighters – rightly or wrongly – now succeed by seeking notoriety rather than fistic excellence.
We live in an age where hostility and press conference tomfoolery sell more tickets than pure talent.
His surname has certainly opened doors for him but for him to remain this relevant at this stage of his career takes more than a name. Attitude is everything.
His first career defeat, to Billy Joe Saunders in 2014, must have hurt him immensely, but he shook it off. He did so again when George Groves schooled him in 2018, and again when he was stopped by Liam Smith in 2023.
Boxing is a fickle business. If two defeats can render a decent fighter obscure, then three can see them erased from the collective memory.
And yet Eubank Jr. endures. He remains cool, calm and collected and fears not the twittering pundits or the hostile mobs on social media who show neither mercy nor respect.
(Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Professional boxers by nature are hard, hard people. However, most also have that air of vulnerability, the feeling that they are just an unkind word away from lasting damage. Eubank Jr. is built different.
The ‘Let them’ theory is a mindset tool about making peace with things that are outside of your control — specifically, other people's feelings and behaviours.
Let them judge you. Let them misunderstand you. Let them take it personally.
Don’t let them steal your light. Don’t let them steal your peace. Don’t let them steal your joy.
Now I am not sure whether Eubank Jr. has even read Mel Robbin’s ‘Life-Changing Mindset Hack’, but he does seem to have followed the mantra during his colourful career.
And whatever you think of the Brighton fighter, you must admire his resilience and his chutzpah.
Let’s have it right, his 14-year pro career has certainly not purely been one of smoke and mirrors. There are big wins on the resume. Victories against former world champions such as James DeGale, Matvey Korobov and Arthur Abraham.
Attitude, confidence and swagger
Those losses to Saunders, Groves and Smith would have been catastrophic to lesser individuals, but Eubank Jr. simply brushed them off. Attitude is everything.
To listen to him and observe the way he carries himself it is clear that Eubank Jr. has clearly pulled a great deal from the Floyd Mayweather playbook, but Mayweather’s brashness and unwavering self-confidence was based primarily on the fact he always got the job done in the ring.
What makes Eubank Jr. arguably more impressive in terms of his sporting longevity is the fact he has lost three times as a professional - and looked poor in several fights he has won - and yet the band plays on.
His notion of self-worth has seen him jump from promoter to promoter, and trainer to trainer.
The venerable Ronnie Davies, who enjoyed a fabulous ride as trainer to Eubank Sr, is a wonderfully experienced coach but a guy with the air of an exasperated PE teacher whenever he is around Junior.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Davies, as close as anyone to the Eubanks, has no doubt been driven to distraction over the years by Junior’s swagger and a confidence that borders on arrogance.
Yet that swagger, vanity and sense of self worth could finally meet its match if he loses to Benn.
Junior has been on record for a long time saying he is the superior fighter.
"I'm going to beat him because I'm a better fighter in every department," Eubank Jr. said last month during a particularly lively press conference.
Such is his confidence; he has even tried to have a £1m wager on the outcome of the fight with Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
Losing therefore – to a natural welterweight to whom he has always felt superior – is just not an option.
Sport at its best can generate a sense of wonder, and we certainly have that with this fight.
There is no belt on the line at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26, but for Eubank Jr. the stakes could not be higher.
Watch three incredible fight nights in one week only on DAZN
Fight fans are in for a treat at the end of April / start of May, with three amazing fight cards within seven days - and DAZN PPV is the only place to watch them all.
- April 26: Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
- May 2: Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero; Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez; Teofimo Lopez vs Arnold Barboza Jr.
- May 3: Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull
Arch rivals Eubank Jr and Benn finally go head-to-head to start the exhilarating week, with PPV prices at £19.95 in the UK; $24.99 in the US; €24.99 in Europe.
Garcia vs. Romero and Canelo vs. Scull fight nights follow, which will both be exclusively on DAZN. Fight fans can purchase either fight individually for $59.99 US; £/€21.99 UK/IRE; ROW - $24.99 per PPV or take advantage of the DAZN Knockout Weekend Bundle where both fights can be purchased for $90 US; £34.99 in the UK and €34.99 in Europe.
