Boxing analyst Gareth A. Davies views Chris Eubank Jr. as having an excellent chance of being picked by undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez for his next defense in late September.
Gareth feels that Eubank Jr. (33-3, 24 KOs) is still a popular fighter in the UK and isn’t a big threat to beating Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs). Eubank Jr., 34, would be a good way for Canelo to stay busy and useful as a tune-up for a fight against Terence Crawford in early 2025.
Davies believes a fight between Canelo and Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) is being negotiated and will take time to finish. While that’s going on, Canelo will fight Eubank Jr.
Madrimov’s Upset Potential: A Golden Ticket for Another Contender?
He doesn’t mention Crawford’s fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. That match could eliminate Crawford from the Canelo equation if Madrimov defeats the 36-year-old Nebraska native.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh hasn’t mentioned his options if Madrimov beats Crawford. Many fans will be interested in seeing who gets the golden ticket if Crawford is beaten.
It doesn’t look like it will be Madrimov because he’s not popular enough. He would still need to move up two divisions to take the fight with Canelo at 168. Fans want to see David Benavidez get the call, but he’s not yet decided if he’s going to campaign at 168 or 175.
Eubank Jr’s Popularity and Low Threat Level
“I can see Canelo picking him because Canelo works for him as an opponent,” said analyst Gareth A. Davies to Boxing Social about Chris Eubank Jr. potentially getting selected by Canelo Alvarez for his next title defense of his undisputed super middleweight championship in late September.
Eubank Jr. works for these reasons:
- His popularity in the UK
- Less criticism from U.S fans: If Canelo fights Edgar Berlanga, he’ll never hear the end of it from fans
- Not a threat: He’s an easy mark.
- Somewhat similar to Crawford
“Eubank is still a big name here [UK]. It’s not a difficult fight for Canelo. He might get battered,” said Gareth, reacting to being told that promoter Eddie Hearn said Eubank Jr. will get battered by Canelo. “It’s not an easy fight for Chris Eubank, but it’s one you can see Canelo taking. It kind of makes sense.”
Canelo will put a beating on Eubank Jr. in this fight, and likely knock him out within three or four rounds. Eubank Jr. makes too many mistakes in his fights, and Canelo will capitalize on them to score an easy knockout.
“He needs to stay busy becasue I do think Canelo will be facing [Terence] Crawford. I’m not sure if it will be late this year or early next year. I know it’s in the works for Saudi. It’s going to be open-weight. Crawford will weigh about 160, and Canelo will be 170,” said Gareth.
It’s still too early to know if Crawford will get the fight with Canelo because he has to win against Madrimov. Given his inactivity, age, and the move up in weight, Crawford’s wheels could come off in this fight.
Canelo-Crawford: A Wild Matchup in the Works
“It is, but it’s a wild matchup, really,” said Gareth about the Canelo-Crawford clash. “It kind of reminds me of Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler, and looked at what happened there.”
It might not be a wild matchup between Canelo and Crawford. If Gareth had watched Crawford’s earlier fights in his career, he tends to box opposition with power, and he used a lot of movement, jabbing, and holding. It’s not really thrilling stuff. He’ll stay on the outside, jab, and stick his tongue out at his opponents, making it boring.
“There’s a lot of people convinced, and I think I’m among them, that Crawford will be in for a very tough [fight]. He’ll have never been hit as hard as Canelo hits him, but he’ll be drawn into this efficient, accurate fight, and precise,” said Gareth.
Canelo vs. Crawford: A Blueprint for Boring?
Crawford will try to box his way to victory, using the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight as a blueprint for him to follow. When he does take chances against Canelo, he’ll do it when he’s certain there’s no chance of being countered.
That will likely happen later in the fight when he feels Canelo is mentally defeated. Again, it will probably be boring, leaving fans feeling ripped off.
If you go back and watch Crawford’s earlier fights against Felix Diaz, Ray Beltran, Viktor Postol, and Ricky Burns, that’s how he fought. He hasn’t had to fight that way at 147 because his opposition has been so poor, consisting of these over-the-hill fighters:
Errol Spence
Kell Brook
Amir Khan
Jeff Horn
Jose Benavidez Jr.
David Avanesyan
Shawn Porter
Egidijus Kavaliauskas
“I think he’ll outpoint Canelo. He might have some tough times in there, but I think he’s going to outpoint him,” said Davies.
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