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Can Eubank Jr Exceed Expectations?

Chris Eubank Jr., son of Chris Eubank who held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles, is making waves in the same divisions that his father did over two decades ago. So far Eubank Jr. has fought 27 times as a pro, winning 26 of those bouts, 20 by way of knockout. The only blemish on his record is a defeat to the current WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders. Next up for Eubank Jr. is without doubt the biggest fight of his career, as he looks to take on George Groves in Manchester.

Eubank, 28, will be putting his IBO super-middleweight title on the line in a clash between the two Brits. He will also have a chance at winning the WBA (Super) super-middleweight title on the night too. As things stand, popular sports betting sites like Unibet have Eubank Jr. priced as the slight favourite to win the 17th of February bout, but it will be far from easy; with many experts and pundits suggesting that Eubank Jr. will have to exceed expectations to win on the night.

First of all, George Groves has been involved in big events before after the two fights with Carl Froch, whereas Eubank Jr. won’t have experienced this kind of billing for a fight. Tickets for the super middleweight clash sold out within 7 minutes, so the pressure will really be on; but we’ve seen in the past that Eubank Jr. seems to thrive off of the attention and being able to show the world what he’s about in the ring.

Eubank Jr. has already shown that he possesses the power, speed and accuracy to deal with the majority of the opponents that he has come up against so far in his pro career. What he will need to do against Groves though, is to box a lot smarter than he has ever had to before. Groves is a warrior in the ring, who himself has 20 stoppages to his name. He’s very capable of landing the big shots when required and he’ll undoubtedly give Eubank Jr. a lot to think about on the night.

If the Eubank camp approach the fight with any sort of arrogance or sense of entitlement, they are likely to come unstuck against Groves who fought long and hard to earn a world title. Both fighters became world champs last year, so both will be giving it their all in order to not only defend what they have; but to also take the other’s belt with them. So it’s imperative that Eubank Jr. is ready to put a shift in and potentially go to war with Groves over 12 rounds.

Eubank Jr. is the younger fighter and the more athletic of the two as well. He’s already shown that he possesses real power and ring craft, however Groves will be in the fight and certainly has a chance of winning. Eubank Jr. will be taking on a fighter with a big heart who can also deliver when it comes to power too. It should be a great fight to kick off 2018 with, especially with it being between two Brits.