Middleweight Eubank Jr vows to succeed ‘inspiration’ Mayweather

Following the apparent retirement of undefeated 12-time world champion Floyd Mayweather, a coveted spot at the summit of the sport’s pound-for-pound standings has opened up, and Brighton-born Chris Eubank Jr has vowed to claim it as his own.

The 25-year-old is one of the brightest stars of boxing and has taken inspiration from training sessions with his idol ‘Money’ Mayweather, who called time on his illustrious career by producing another masterclass against Andre Berto to finish on 49-0.

Eubank Jr now believes he has the attributes to succeed the unbeaten champion as the sport’s leading talent, but faces strong competition from fighters such as Gennady Golovkin, who is 7/1 with Coral to be stunned by David Lemieux later this year.

GGG looks the most likely to be boxing’s next global superstar, with the devastating Kazakh storming his way through the division, and he can cement his title as the dominant middleweight champion with victory over Lemieux on October 17.

Although, despite Golovkin boasting a record of 33-0, including an incredible 30 stoppages, Eubank Jr, son of former world champion Chris Snr, has claimed he will ultimately take Mayweather’s crown as the pound-for-pound kingpin.

“I have trained on and off with Floyd and his father for many years now and I’ve learned a lot,” declared Eubank Jr.

“His work ethic is second to none and it’s great being around him and the ‘Money Team.’ It’s one of the best gyms in the world in my opinion, the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas, and I think that is going to be somewhere where I may potentially be having future training camps.

“Once you are there, you really understand what real training is, real dedication, and I would like to train out there as much as possible.”

When questioned as to who will fill Mayweather’s gloves as the number one leading fighter in the sport, a confident Eubank Jr replied: “There’s a fighter called Chris Eubank Jr from England. I think he’s going to be the next guy to replace Floyd.”

The confident Brighton bruiser climbed up the middleweight rankings this year after a stoppage win over Dmitry Chudinov, in which he claimed the interim WBA title in February, but is keen on doing what 33 others have failed to, ending Golovkin’s streak.

“I want whoever has the belts,” he continued. “Obviously you’ve got your man Gennady Golovkin, who is seen as one of the pound-for-pound best.

“I personally see weaknesses in his boxing style and I believe when I get my opportunity, I’ll be able to exploit those weaknesses. There is no maybe about it. He’s 100 per cent beatable and I am the man to do it.”

Golovkin is the massive odds-on 1/14 favourite to topple Frenchman Lemieux later this year, meaning Eubank Jr may have to wait quite a bit longer to earn his potential place atop of those pound-for-pound rankings.