EUBANK: MY BOY IS BEST IN FAMILY...
Title goes on the line tonight
CHRISTOPHER Livingstone eubank senior takes delight in remarking how often he is mistaken for Christopher Livingstone eubank Junior.
‘so many people keep coming up to wish me well in my next fight,’ says dad with a chuckle. ‘ Quite a few of them in boxing.’
Like father, like son? to a considerable extent, yes. even though there is a 23-year age gap and they will be separated by the ropes and a corner post tonight.
Junior does point out: ‘i don’t wear leather trousers or drive around in a tank.’
senior is quick to proclaim: ‘Junior will be a superior edition of myself.’
Whether or not that prediction is accurate will become a little clearer as son of eubank tangles with another good old boy, Armenia’s Germany-based Arthur Abraham, at Wembley Arena tonight.
Like his father, Chris the Younger is a fitness fanatic who takes a narcissistic pride in the rippling muscularity of his body. he also explodes from those familial postures with bursts of punches which can overwhelm.
the question is whether he has inherited the full punching power his father possessed in his two- weight world championship prime, when he knocked out Nigel Benn and inflicted crippling damage upon Michael Watson.
Junior has yet to confront rivals of that stature. Now he faces Abraham who, although he was stopped once because of a grotesquely damaged eye, has never been knocked down and out. King Arthur, as Abraham is dubbed, is a three-time world champion in the middle and super-middle divisions. Although he is in the autumn of a distinguished career, a thunderous victory over him would be a strong statement. it would also give eubank Jnr — holder of the lightly regarded IBO belt — his chance to go in search of a meaningful world super-middleweight title. the winner of this fight will take the eighth and last place in the new World series of boxing. should he reach the semi-finals in the new year, he will find himself challenging for the WBA super-middleweight title currently in the possession of George Groves. Both eubank (below) and Groves are favourites to win their october quarter-finals to set up that big British clash, with the winner proceeding to the May final — and perhaps another lucrative domestic dust-up against Callum smith. so there is much at stake for eubank in money and prestige against Abraham. eubank snr, having watched the tapes of Abraham’s recent bouts, says: ‘i cannot see what he can do to defeat Junior.’ Nor can i, at these opposite moments in their careers in which eubank snr describes them as ‘ships passing in the night’. the young man in whom he takes such pride should win. it will be the manner of his victory which serves as a guiding light.