EUBANK JNR Q&A
Declan Taylor heads to Brighton where Chris Eubank Jnr admits he’s made mistakes in the past
The famous son explains why he has had to make some significant changes
FIRST came the promise to beat Billy Joe Saunders and then came the defeat. Next was the promise to terrorise George Groves and then came the defeat. Aware that a third broken promise will ruin his reputation for good, Brighton’s Chris Eubank Jnr has made some changes ahead of Saturday’s domestic showdown with James Degale. After famously training yourself for so long, you’ve employed a new trainer, Nate Vasquez, and even put him up at your house, how has it been?
Good, its taken some getting used to, having a man you have to take instructions from every day and then go home and he’s there again. It’s been a shock to the system but I’ve got used to it now and I can see the
benefits of having someone there who’s fully focused on you for an entire training camp. I’m happy.
So was there a lightbulb moment when you thought, ‘I should have done this years ago’?
A lightbulb moment? Maybe you could say that.
I’m not going to say that I regret the decisions I made throughout my career because I’m proud of what I acheived and I believe I’ve done very well in the sport but at this stage and at this level of the game. I’m not giving away any advantages by not having a tailored coach and a plan.
What sort of stuff have you been working on together?
I see a lot of improvement; my mentality, my boxing brain, strategy and game plan. I’m very happy with how the training camp
has gone and I can’t help to get in there and show everyone what I’ve been working on.
Everything takes time, hours and hours of repetition. I’ve been working with him since the summer so that’s six or eight months and there have been subtle differences. Not a huge overhaul and I won’t be a completely different fighter on the night but my mind is different. My thought process is more professional now.
As a result of having a trainer?
Yes. As a result of having a focused training camp with a trainer who is tailoring everything to what James Degale is. I’ve never really had that in my career. I’ve just got really fit, trained really hard and fought.
That’s what I’ve done every time. But this training camp, I’ve done technical spars which I’ve never done before. That has been very hard for me. For me to be working on different things took some getting used to but I can see the benefits.
As well as Nate, you’ve had your main sparring partner Denis Douglin living with you. Have the three of you had any mishaps at home?
Absolutely none – to my surprise and my delight. Nate and Denis are both very responsible, clean individuals. That was the one thing I was worried about before they came over. ‘What if these guys are pigs, being loud and keeping me up at night?’ But they’ve been great, which is good because I’d have had to kick them out and pay for hotel rooms for the whole trip. So I’ve saved a bit of money on that.
Have you written a list of Eubank house rules and stuck them on the fridge?
Ha, No. We are all grown men and we know the deal, especially in a training camp. We know there’s no late nights, no music
and that you clean up after yourself, just the standard rules of living really.
They’re good guys. We have a lot of TVS and a lot of rooms so I can get away with not seeing them for most of the day. They keep to themselves and do their own thing so it’s working out well.
We hear Nate is a bit of a dab hand in the kitchen, so has he been doing all the cooking?
I’ve had a couple of Nate’s Mexican dishes, he’s not bad. I’ve got to make 12 stone these days and for me to do that I have to constantly eat so having some extra food around the house is a plus.
I don’t watch the cooking programmes anymore. They were my vice when I was down at middleweight; binge-watching Man vs Food and the cooking channel and all these food shows. But now I’m eating as much as I want every day. That’s not on the books for me at the moment.
Some boxers feel the need to take themselves away from home comforts in camp but you do the opposite. Why do you think this works for you? I’m a very disciplined guy, some guys need to be away from family and friends and home town and need to separate themselves from their environment but I’ve never been that way; I can train anywhere. Being here in Brighton where I grew up has always been fine for me. Sometimes we go home and watch fights and talk about boxing but at the same time you need a break, it can’t be boxing 24/7. Nate understands that so it’s not like we take everything from the gym back to the house. You need to know when to rest your mind as well as your body.
Is it fair to say your dad has not been around as much as usual during this camp?
He’s been in the States for the last few months, he came back a few days ago. We’ve been in contact and talk all the time but he’s not been in the gym.
Is this the first time in your career he’s been totally absent from camp in that sense?
I guess you could say that – yeah. He’s been out of the country but that was by chance; I haven’t said, ‘listen, I don’t want you here’, he’s my dad. The amount of knowledge and advice and guidance he has given over the years me is invaluable but for this camp it just so happens that he has a lot of business going on in other countries. Now that Nate is here I guess he feels he didn’t need to always be around.
He wasn’t here every day before, he wasn’t and couldn’t be, but this time he just hasn’t been around at all.
Ronnie Davies is still part of the team. Have you had to smooth his ego at all after bringing in a new trainer?
Not at all. He’s fully understanding. He knows that I needed a trainer. He’s 72 years old. He can’t train me like I need to be trained and he knows that. He’s an overseer, an advisor and makes sure everything runs smooth. Him and Nate get along very well.
If your dad’s not in camp as much now, has your relationship with him changed at all?
We still talk about boxing, especially when you have a fight coming up.
You can’t not talk to him about boxing. I wouldn’t say our relationship has changed, he’s often away for months, that’s just life. We’re still close and we always will be.
He was famous for his part in domestic clashes with the likes of Nigel Benn and Michael Watson. What is it about Eubanks and all-british grudge matches?
“MY DAD AND I ARE STILL CLOSE AND WE ALWAYS WILL BE”
I enjoy being in fights where there is a story, a narrative and a reason for wanting to fight other than just for another win on the record. It’s great for the fans, it gives them something to look forward to and it’s good for the sport, having characters and stories to go with the fights. A lot of these rivalries these days are fake, they do things at press conferences that are pantomime. This is real and the fans know that.
Some people believe James Degale is over the hill. Would you agree?
He’s a former world champion and a former Olympic gold medalist – you can’t underestimate a man like that. He’s proved his worth but at this stage now, with the determination, desire and drive I have... this really is do or die. We are both on the edge now and one of us is going to fall off the cliff and I don’t see a way back for whoever falls. We both know that, neither of us want to fall off.
I couldn’t help but notice the orange sports car parked outside. Is that a new purchase?
I had a Bentley last year and the Mclaren this year, I guess I just needed something faster this time around. I always said I would learn how to try one of giant trucks my dad drove and maybe I will one day but, for now, a sports car is more my style. I have bought it, I own it and have bought a new number plate, just in case people do not know I am and who the car belongs to. it’s EU13ANK. I cannot say how fast I have gone in it, no faster than the speed limit.
But could you really drive that sort of car around Brighton if you don’t win this fight?
I am not thinking about losing – it is going to go my way. You only live once, boxing is a short career and I cannot drive a Mclaren around at 40 and 50 years old, it would not look right, I need to do it in my 20s and early 30s. I’ll get that out of the way now and have my fun. I don’t know what car I will drive when I am 50, but it won’t be orange.
“A LOT OF RIVALRIES ARE FAKE, THEY ARE PANTOMIME. THIS IS REAL”