Chris Eubank Jr prepares for ‘Spike’ test with Tony Jeter bout
Published:
Lee Gormley | October 22, 2015
Chris Eubank Jr v Tony Jeter
- Interim WBA middleweight title fight
- Saturday, October 24th
- Scheduled for: 21:00 BST
- Sheffield Arena, Yorkshire
- Live on Sky Sports 1
Eubank Jr makes Sky Sports debut
WBA interim middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr makes his Sky Sports debut this weekend against American competitor Tony Jeter and the promising Brighton-born fighter is hoping to put on a show as the main event at the Sheffield Arena, ahead of his anticipated showdown with long-standing Irish rival Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan on December 12th.
Eubank Jr (19-1, 14 KOs) is the rising star of this star-studded middleweight division, having recently secured his current interim strap by stopping Dmitry Chudinov, and has already made bold claims in what are still the early stages of his career, along with his famous father, declaring that he has the beating of divisional kingpin Gennady Golovkin.
The 26-year-old will finally end a war of words with Cork-born ‘Spike’ (22-1, 15 KOs) when they collide on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight tussle with Dillian Whyte later this year, but is 11/8 with Coral to stop his next American opposition between rounds four and six, while a first points decision triumph since 2012 is 8/1.
Spike on the horizon
In 27 professional bouts so far, veteran Jeter has only ever fought outside of the United States on one occasion, which was in Denmark, and his travels didn’t end well as he was knocked out in the second round by Patrick Nielsen. An even tougher test lies ahead of him in Yorkshire, with many seeing this as simply a warm-up meeting for Eubank Jr, but the American has not lost since 2011 and has stopped 14 of his 20 victims prematurely, making him 25/1 for stunning KO win on Saturday night.
Although, with Eubank Jr being the star attraction in Sheffield this weekend, the rising middleweight prospect will look to put on a strong showing for fans during his maiden bout since signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Promotions. However, the build-up has continued to be distracted by animosity between the Englishman and upcoming Irish foe O’Sullivan.
“Spike O’Sullivan has a very good record and a very big mouth. The fight will happen on December 12 and he’s going to get everything that he’s been asking for over the last two or three years,” declared Eubank Jr.
“We really want to beat each other”
“He’s been stalking me online so he gets to put his money where his mouth is on December 12. That’s the fight the public want to see this year. He’s been talking a lot of smack over the last few years and now he’s got his chance to back up the talk.
“Power isn’t enough to beat me. You’ll need a hell of a lot more than power to even come close to beating me.
“Personally, I think he’s kind of talked his way in to the fight and doesn’t really want to be there. We’ll find out on the night but when he’s in there and feels the type of fire I’m bringing, he’s not going to want to know.
“I think it’ll be one of those classic fights because it’s a grudge match. There’s no love lost and that’s what the public want to see – fighters with some type of emotion. There’s no ‘good luck mate’ – we really want to beat each other. May the best man win.”
Eubank Jr ponders previous defeat
Both Eubank Jr and O’Sullivan suffered their only career defeats at the hands of Billy Joe Saunders, who faces Andy Lee for the WBO world title on December 19th, with the pair each losing out by split and unanimous decisions respectively. Although, Brighton bruiser Eubank Jr still believes he edged his contest with Saunders in what was one of the most entertaining scraps of 2014.
“It was a learning fight. It was my first 12-rounder. Previously, I’d only ever gone eight rounds. Mentally it had me relaxed in the earlier rounds – I paced myself too much in the early rounds,” continued Eubank Jr.
“Once I realised I was completely at home and comfortable, I put the pressure on and it was no contest. I dominated the fight after five or six rounds.
“Do I agree with the decision? No. But it doesn’t matter. He got the win. It was a great fight. I think it was voted one of the best middleweight fights that year and the public want to see the rematch. Hopefully we can get it on in early 2016.”
Eubank Jr stopped Russian competitor Chudinov in the 12th round in his last ring outing and is 50/1 emulate that result against Jeter, but his American counterpart could have his night cut short a lot earlier than that and is 5/1 to be sparked in round one during their Sheffield showdown.
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Coral’s top tip: Chris Eubank Jr to stop Tony Jeter in rounds 4-6 @ 11/8
