Eubank is busy ‘doing a Canelo’

BY TOM HOPKINSON CHRIS EUBANK JNR is taking pages out of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s playbook rather than the one Ricky Hatton wrote, as he plots a return to world-title fights.

The former IBO World super-middleweight champion (above) wants to stay busy in 2022 to keep as physically and mentally fresh as he can.

And he will kick-off his year in Cardiff on Saturday when he finally gets to meet bitter rival Liam Williams after two postponements.

Eubank said: “If anything, Canelo has shown that activity is key. It is important – stay active, stay in the gym.

“Not that I don’t, I’m always in the gym, but I need to always be in the ring. The more time you spend out of the ring, you lessen as a fighter.

“Mentally, physically, spiritually, it just takes something out of you, the more days you spend out of competition.

“It’s a lifestyle, a mindset. If you know you are always going to fight – and your body, mind and soul is tuned in – then the longer you tune in for, the better it is on the night.

“It’s the same with peaking, you don’t want to peak too early before a fight, you want to peak in the week before. It’s the same when you’re out of competition, you don’t want to go down too far.”

Hatton would balloon between fights during his days at the top but then get himself back in terrific shape. Eubank added: “Did it work him for him? He had some big losses.

“When you’re putting that type of weight on and off, I don’t think it works and the guys who get away with it, that’s what they’re doing – getting away with it.

“It’s a different thing to shut your mind off from the sport, to reset, but to

put your body through ups and downs of

weight loss and gain doesn’t work.

“This year we’re looking to fight three more times, and this a great fight for me to have to leap in to challenge for those titles.”

Like James DeGale and Billy Joe Saunders, Williams has made no secret of his dislike of Eubank – and payback is promised on Saturday.

Eubank said: “You’d have to ask them why they start digging at me.

“I don’t insult people on social media unless they have insulted me.

“The things he has said leading up to this are well below the belt, and he’s going to pay for it.”

The more time you spend out of

the ring, you lessen as a fighter