Chris Eubank Jr appears to have a gilded life.
The son of one of many UK’s most well-known fighters, enriched by his personal boxing profession, dwelling and coaching in Las Vegas, taking part in poker at his leisure, he could possibly be perceived to be a part-time fighter.
However such an assumption can be a mistake. He stays pushed.
“All the things I’ve done, the money I’ve made, the fights I’ve won, it hasn’t stopped my hunger for wanting to achieve more in the sport,” he informed Sky Sports activities. “I am not hungry at a monetary stage.
“I am hungry by way of boxing, to go on the market to win, to encourage the general public, to encourage the youngsters developing, to encourage myself. That is crucial factor for me.
“At the end of my career, am I going to be proud when I look back? Because I’m going to have to live with it for another 60 years before I go. Did I do everything I could while I was able to in my career?”
The poker is only a interest. “Poker is the only thing outside of boxing that gives me that adrenaline rush,” he mentioned.
“You’re in a big pot. You bet $50,000. You’re bluffing the guy. You’re waiting for him to either fold his hand or call. That heart-pump, that’s the only time I can get that adrenaline rush that can replicate being in fight-or-flight mode like you are in a fight.
“Simply the competitiveness of it, beating your opponents, outwitting them, outplaying them. Having that poker face that is one thing I’ve taken from the boxing and used it in boxing. You by no means know if I’ve good playing cards or dangerous playing cards. I am fully stone-faced once I’m in the midst of a hand, similar to in boxing.”
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Chris Eubank Jr says a future combat in opposition to Ben Whittaker was not on his radar however would not rule out the likelihood someday.
Eubank provides little away, inside a combat, at a press convention, within the profession choices he makes.
“You can’t get a read on me,” he mentioned. “That’s a key part of it, not getting too excited, not getting too upset if things don’t go your way, being balanced, being calm, always thinking about your surroundings. It’s all very transferrable.”
He’ll subsequent combat Kamil Szeremeta, a former Gennadiy Golovkin and Jaime Munguia opponent, on October 12 however he’s angling for a world title shot, with Erislandy Lara’s WBA championship in his sights.
“That’s definitely a fight that’s of great interest to me. I haven’t got a middleweight world title. I’ve always dreamed of having it and the fight’s there. It’s right there,” he mentioned.
“The name Lara is not the most appealing, no. But the world title is for sure. That’s like a personal thing. Financially, there’s way bigger fights out there, but having that world title that’s another level.”
It’s, nevertheless, simply one in every of his objectives. He nonetheless needs “mega-fights” with the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
Beating somebody like Canelo would possibly even see him outdo his well-known father’s accomplishments.
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Chris Eubank Jr says a combat in opposition to Canelo Alvarez was shut however believes it is going to be made sooner or later, presumably within the UK in Could 2025.
“It puts me on the path to being able to compete with my father’s achievements,” he mentioned.
Financial rewards, Eubank Jr insists, should not his main motivation. “My passion and love for the sport, that’s number one, that has to be number one. If it’s not number one, you will never make it,” he mentioned.
“Because the materialistic drive, it will never last because there are times when things get too tough, too painful, too much sacrifice. So you’ll just give up if you’re only doing it for money, if you don’t love the sport.”
Regardless of the obvious luxuries of his life now, that hasn’t all the time been the case for him.
“Growing up as a kid, I went to private school, I lived in a mansion,” Eubank Jr mentioned. “I had everything.”
However it will change. “My father, he had no money management skills. He went bankrupt. That was a horrible time in our lives. But one thing positive that can be taken from that is I saw that and I learned from that and I will now make sure that will never happen to me,” he mentioned.
“Into my teens, my father went bankrupt, that infrastructure was kind of gone and I lived a much more conservative lifestyle. My first ever apartment was above a nursery… I wasn’t in a mansion but I’d had a taste of that lifestyle.”
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After beating Felix Money on the weekend, Tyler Denny is concentrating on a conflict with both Chris Eubank Jr or Hamzah Sheeraz.
He wished to get well that. “How do I get the big house? How do I get the cars? How do I get the clothes? How do I get that fame that I grew up with that I saw my father living? I want to get to that,” was his mindset.
“I don’t want to be living above a nursery my whole life. I’ve got to win, I’ve got to fight, I’ve got to train, I’ve got to dedicate myself so I can achieve what my father achieved and not only that but keep it, sustain it,” he mentioned. “That was a driving factor.”
However he added: “If you don’t genuinely obsess about being the best fighter you can be, you will never make it.
“That was the primary driving issue for me changing into what my father did not suppose I may change into, changing into what nobody thought I may change into – which is a good fighter. Secondary was I need that way of life. I need to be anyone. I need to proceed my household title.”
Watch Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium stay on Sky Sports activities Field Workplace on September 21.
