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Eubank Sr determined to see success run in family

Chris Eubank Jr has been massively hyped up by his father © Getty Images

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Chris Eubank Sr knows all about the dangers that lie between the ropes but he says he has no concerns ahead of his son's fight with the more experienced Billy Joe Saunders on Saturday.

Eubank Jr faces the biggest test of his 18-fight career when he takes on the European, British and Commonwealth middleweight champion Saunders at the London's ExCel Arena.

Despite evidence weighing heavily in Saunders' favour, the unyielding and incredible confidence coming from the Eubank camp has convinced many of an upset in the clash of two unbeaten British boxers.

Eubank Sr, who was world middleweight and super-middleweight champion in the 1990s, has talked up his son's potential to the point where he has compared him to world middleweight No.1 Gennady Golovkin, Sugar Ray Leonard and has also declared he will be better than boxing's pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.

With such confidence in his son's ability, Eubank Sr says watching him against Saunders will not be a nerve-shredding experience.

"The referee needs to be mindful of Billy Joe Saunders," said Eubank Sr while watching his son train at a gym in Hove. "He's fighting a very dangerous man in Christopher.

"I'm his father which means I'm constantly on this. What advantage must it to be to have someone who has gone through what I have gone through and is able to articulate them? What do you think is in that young man? I dread to think…

"Why would it be difficult watching him as a father? He is the danger. He has more talent than me. Absolutely he can achieve what I did, so long as he keeps on doing what he's doing. He's got the potential to be something that I've not actually seen and it's exciting.

"It's not often I've been wrong when it comes to boxing so it's something to look forward to. I think this man changes the game. When the centre of the boxing world is Vegas, we're going to bring that not just to the UK but to Brighton, it's going to be here. Let's see whether something proves me wrong."

Brighton's Eubank Jr, 25, has not boxed beyond eight rounds yet but insists he is ready. He claims he has struggled to get sparring partners after footage of him sparring IBF-WBA world super-middleweight champion Carl Froch was shown on TV.

"This training camp has been superb apart from the fact the sparring partners could've been better," Eubank Jr said. "Where I haven't been able to spar I've started doing strength and conditioning instead.

"I feel like a new me. I say I've been training non-stop for the last ten years so 'too soon' doesn't make any sense. I'm ready and you'll see on the night what I'm made of."

But Saunders is unimpressed by both the Eubanks' talk ahead of what is also an eliminator for the WBO world title.

"My dad wasn't world champion like his was, but I've been British and European middleweight champion and boxed at the Olympics which is a lot more than what he has done," he said.

"Whenever you see him you see his dad stealing the show. Who he has boxed so far is embarrassing and sparring is different to fighting. He will learn the hard way."

Billy Joe Saunders says experience will favour him against Chris Eubank Jr © PA Photos

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