The ‘rudderless’ career of Chris Eubank Jr has already struck gold

The morning after Gennady Golovkin had thumped holes in Kell Brook’s skull, I was sitting in a café in Brighton and Hove when Chris Eubank Sr, a fellow resident of the English south coast city, appeared beside me.

“Rudderless,” he said, glowing with mischief and contempt. “Rudderless!”

He was referring to a recent Boxing News front page, the longstanding weekly publication for which I then served as editor. The story in question, which was the inspiration for the Rudderless coverline, was published in reaction to Chris Eubank Jr appearing to pull out of negotiations to fight Golovkin after claiming for years he had the beating of him. Eddie Hearn, the show’s promoter, insisted he’d grown tired of waiting for Eubank Jr.s signature and offered the fight to Brook instead.

“That is one side of the story,” Eubank said. “We would not take that fight without all the terms being exactly as we wanted them to be. How do you put on the front cover, Rudderless? There is nothing rudderless about me and what I’m doing with Junior. I have built Junior into a fighter, not a celebrity, not a talker, very well mannered, very much on course.”

Senior’s annoyance with the sensationalism of the front-page headline was understood. It’s too easy to judge other people without walking in their shoes; without facing what they’ve faced; without sharing their fatherly love for a son and therefore misunderstanding why certain decisions are made. Eubank went on to explain that promises weren’t kept; that the money didn’t add up; that deadlines hadn’t been shared and that, ultimately, they were not willing to risk so much for so little against a fighter of Golovkin’s stature.

Eight years on, Brook and Golovkin are all but retired, Eubank Sr no longer guides the career of his son and Junior, at 34 years old, is again being accused of walking away from a gargantuan opportunity. Following the split of sorts from his father, Eubank Jr signed with Sauerland Promotions before joining forces with Ben Shalom’s Boxxer earlier in the summer. Headlines soon followed that they were in negotiations with Team Canelo about a potential fight with Saul Alvarez on September 14. 

In July, Shalom told BoxingScene the chances of the fight occurring was “50/50” which, generally, is a promoter’s way of saying “not very likely at all” – and so it proved when Edgar Berlanga, always thought to be the frontrunner for the date with Canelo, was subsequently confirmed as the Mexican’s opponent. 

On Tuesday Eubank Jr told Sky Sports: “We were in talks with he [Alvarez] and his team for his next fight. We couldn’t come to an agreement. It was very last minute. The numbers weren’t right; the business wasn’t right; and I’ve been out of the ring for a year. 

“This wasn’t a fight that I could take after a year off. I wasn’t going in there for a payday like so many other fighters have. I’m going in there to win, and I want to give myself the best chance possible. That means being able to come off consistent fights, consistent camps and then go into the biggest fight in world boxing at the moment not coming off a year lay-off. I think activity and consistency over the next six months and get this man in May.”  

One naturally wonders if Eubank Jr will get the chance to take on a fighter of Golovkin’s or Canelo’s standing again – though to label him a coward or anything of that nature would be remarkably inaccurate. He is always sincere and there’s no question that if he’d been offered what he deemed he was worth, he would instead be preparing to face Canelo.

Whether we believe his sense of self-worth is accurate is unimportant; it’s his value to decide and his decision to make. He’s always had a clear idea of what he brings to the table and, rightly or not, he has never once allowed himself to be undersold. An intelligent man, Eubank Jr told me in 2021 that his “career is certainly closer to the end than the start”, so therefore it figures that that feeling will only be more acute three years down the line. He will also know that a fight with Alvarez, in which he’d be the B-side, could end his career or at least greatly diminish his marketing position should he fail to win.

For now, the eternal gambler is willing to twist. Given his age, the loss to Liam Smith – which was avenged – and the inactivity, it is certainly a gamble. But if we look at what he achieved, financially at least, after failing to agree terms with Golovkin then it’s easy to understand why it’s one he’s taking. Though his career hasn’t nearly fulfilled the promises of grandeur with which it began, one could argue it has regardless been a roaring success.

At 33-3 (24 KOs), Eubank Jr has earned tens of millions without enduring any serious wear and tear, thus ensuring his future in the process.

Without question, the genes, surname and showmanship he inherited from his father long ago opened doors that would have remain closed for others at his level but it’s reasonable to conclude he’s taken those gifts and run with them. 

“Aside from the heavyweights, he’s the most marketable and recognizable boxer in the UK,” Shalom accurately surmised.  

When one looks back at his career and pinpoints the pay-per-views and huge events he’s been involved in it becomes clear that it was Eubank Jr’s star appeal alone that greatly enhanced their marketability. 

Presuming Eubank does in fact get busy – and Boxxer and Sky Sports will be exceptionally keen to build some huge shows around his name – we can expect to see him bagging significant cash in the coming months. Whether it leads to Canelo, or even some semblance of a world title, is largely irrelevant in the bigger picture. Like his father, who openly admitted that fighting the likes of James Toney and Roy Jones would not earn him nearly enough money to risk getting hurt, the end game has never been greatness in the boxing sense of the word.

“In 10, 15, 20, 30 years my boy is going to say, ‘Dad, you’re some man, no one has done this’,” Eubank Sr told me eight years ago. “As a parent I will do everything for my son… I made £35m from the sport. Junior will earn so much more money than me. 

“Rudderless is so far from the point.”