2017 – the year of Eubank Jnr

We look at what the famous son must do to escape his father’s shadow

Think Chris Eubank and you immediately cast your mind back to those pulsating clashes with old foe Nigel Benn in the early 1990s. Was there ever a better time to follow British boxing?

But, you see, that’s the problem that faces new kid on the block Chris Eubank Jnr who, despite taking the game by storm, the son of a famous father finds it impossible to step out from that enormous shadow. At the start of what promises to be a massive 12-months in his career, we look at what the talented 27-year-old must do to steal the limelight.

Step out into the light

Firstly, I’d ask – why does he want to? Being his father’s son has done him no harm so far and his name alone has earned him more money and ensured he jumped the queue. When I made my professional debut, at London’s ExCel Centre, it was about as far away from glamourous as you can imagine. I shared a changing room (if you could call it that) with my opponent. We warmed up beforehand, casting awkward glances across the room, before going to batter lumps out of each other in front of Sky Sports TV cameras and a crowd baying for blood, all for £1000. My friends and family spent more at the Docklands venue’s bar that night. It’s the same at the start of most fighter’s career, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It’s proper boxing.

Compare that to the professional bow of Eubank Jnr, who boxed on the undercard of Tyson Fury at Manchester’s Trafford Park. Mainstream press wanted to see his debut, not because of his silky skills, but because of who his dad is.

Daddy’s here to stay

That’s not to say the middleweight boxer isn’t a class act. He has strung together an impressive CV reading 23 wins, against just one defeat, with that coming on points against, now, world champion Billy Joe Saunders. Experts believed Saunders would blow him away that night but, in the end, there was little in it, with Eubank boosting his stock despite the result.