Eubank Jr. wants Lonsdale belt before looking for world glory

The Lonsdale Belt is the oldest championship belt in boxing and its status among British fighters has resulted in some fantastic dust-ups over the years.

On March 26th, Chris Eubank Jr gets another chance to capture the prestigious belt when he challenges Nick Blackwell for the British middleweight title at the Wembley Arena.

Blackwell earned the middleweight strap last May with a fantastic stoppage win over John Ryder. Eubank will be keen not to repeat the result of his first crack at the British title when he came up short against the now WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders.

So why has Eubank opted to face Blackwell over a mandatory shot at WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs? At the press conference he gave his answer as the two fighters came face-to-face. “This is something from a very early age that I always wanted to accomplish in my career,” Eubank Jr said of the British title. “Once we get in there and start fighting, he’ll show cowardice and end up quitting or getting knocked out.”

Having already shared a ring in sparring both fighters should have a rough idea of what they’re up against. Blackwell wasn’t shy to share his version of events.  “He knows. That’s why he hasn’t took the last three times we were supposed to fight. He knows what happened last time in sparring,“ said the middleweight champion.

Despite showing respect to his son’s opponent, the presence of Eubank Sr, or ‘English’ as he now prefers to be called, ensured the presser wasn’t without its share of poetic sparring. “It’s difficult to find anyone with his speed, his irrepressibility, his attitude, his cold-like demeanour, “ remarked Eubank’s father. “Again in my view, as a former participant, I can’t see anyone in the middleweight division or super middleweight division staying with him in boxing.”

Eubank is coming off an impressive seventh round stoppage over domestic rival Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan and will approach the 26th as the odds-on favourite. Blackwell will be planning on proving the bookmakers wrong.

– Richard Middleton / @1outsidetherope

Published on behindthegloves.com

Is Amir Khan too brave for his own good?

Earlier this month the boxing world was stunned. Twitter was a frenzy of activity as the news spread that former two-time world champion Amir Khan would be facing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on May 7th in Las Vegas for the middleweight championship of the world. Boxing hasn’t been caught off guard in such fashion for some time; matches of this magnitude are practically impossible to conceal these days.

Perhaps most surprised of all was the fellow welterweight and current IBF world champion Kell Brook. Brook has been extremely vocal about his desire to face Khan in what would be a massive domestic showdown.

Through taking a challenge of this size Amir Khan dons two fingers to the naysayers and guarantees himself a huge payday. I perceive it to be a smart move from Khan too. The best case scenario results in a victory over one of the biggest names in boxing. Should the fight not go Khan’s way but remains competitive then he still walks away a lot richer, having gone up in weight to face one of boxing’s best.

No doubt the door to a lucrative fight with Kell Brook would still remain open. The only way Khan will majorly suffer from taking this fight is if the fight turns out to be hugely one-sided in Canelo’s favour- something I don’t see happening. Khan brings speed, boxing intelligence, movement and should have just enough pop in his punches to keep the naturally stronger Alvarez honest.

Khan winning would certainly qualify as an upset; however boxing history is not short of an upset or two. Hasim Rahman’s knockout of Lennox Lewis. George Foreman’s victory over

The other factor that could play a crucial role is how much power Khan carries at middleweight. He won’t be fighting as the usual middleweight limit of 160 pounds for his fight in May, instead opting for Canelo’s familiar 155-pound catchweight. But Khan will clearly be the lighter fighter on the night. Canelo usually enters the ring at over 170 pounds. He’s now a fully fledged 147 pounder but let’s not forget Khan started off as a lightweight. His height and reach could play a part in negating some of the physical edges in strength Canelo has. How much we’ll have to wait and see.

So do I think Khan will win? In short, no. In their 2013 showdown, Floyd Mayweather showed the blueprint to beat Alvarez. Mayweather put on a master class. But Khan is no Mayweather. Khan has the tools to give any elite fighter trouble. There’s no doubt in my mind he has the potential to win this fight. But I don’t think he will.

I think Alvarez will slow him down with shots to the body and catch up with him eventually. The outcome depends a lot on which Amir Khan turns up. If it’s the Khan who we saw struggle against Chris Algieri, then he’s in a world of trouble. If it the Amir Khan that controlled the pace and dominated Devon Alexander, then he has a good chance.

It’s a very tough ask though not an impossible one.

Published on behindthegloves.com

In the air tonight

New York’s Madison Square Garden provides the perfect stage for tonight’s eagerly anticipated showdown between Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin and David Lemieux. Golovkin’s earnt a reputation as one of the sport’s most exciting fighters. The Kazakh wrecking ball is yet to come unstuck in 33 professional contests and goes into battle tonight knowing that he has stopped his last 20 opponents by knockout.

Let’s assess the threat that Lemieux poses to Golovkin’s continued dominance of the middleweight division. The Canadian based fighter has an all action style and fists blessed with the kind of concussive power that has made his opponent become avoided like the plague. But while his team must understand the size of the task in front of them, they certainly don’t appear to be coming just to lie down. At just 26 years old Lemieux is the younger man by seven years and sports an equally scary 31 knockouts from 33 victories. And while it would be wise to state that most of his performances have been inside his native Canada, even his harshest critics can’t ignore the way he pummelled a common opponent he shares with Golovkin, Gabriel Rosado.

Both boxers’ styles make for a fight that surely has to live up to the hype. Let’s hope Lemieux is the first to force Golovkin out of second gear. Golovkin’s character could be tested tonight, especially if Lemieux manages to land one of his vicious left hooks on his chin. I predict Lemieux to come out the blocks aggressively and to attempt to show the bookmakers why they were wrong. But in his determination to show the world who is the man at 160-pounds I see him getting caught. Golovkin is a master of controlling distance, and his defensive ability is underrated. Steaming head first into Golovkin might well be Lemieux undoing. Might we see a disciplined Lemieux try to show us the prowess of his boxing skills? Against Golovkin’s extensive amateur pedigree I see this being a real challenge for Lemieux. To be honest, I expect whatever game-plan team Lemieux have worked on to dissolve once the bombs start to fly.

Prediction: a Golovkin stoppage inside seven rounds. Tonight should dish up fireworks; don’t blink.