Eubank Jr targets Benn & Alvarez in next 12 months
Chris Eubank Jr is targeting a fight with superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May and also expects to face fellow Briton Conor Benn “within the next 12 months”.
The 34-year-old takes on Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta on 12 October in Saudi Arabia.
Eubank Jr has been out of the ring since September, when he avenged a stoppage defeat by Liam Smith.
“I want to get back into the swing of things and make these mega fights over the next 12 months,” Eubank Jr told the BBC Radio 5 Live Boxing podcast.
Eubank Jr is yet to win a recognised world title but remains one of the biggest draws in British boxing.
He was in the running to face unified super-middleweight champion Alvarez next month but a purse could not be negotiated.
“There were discussions but we couldn’t come to terms on the business side of things. I’ve been out of the ring for 12 months – I wasn’t looking to fight Canelo for a payday,” Eubank Jr said.
“I want to beat this guy. Get me some nice solid fights over the next six months and then I’ll take [Alvarez] out in May.”
Eubank Jr & Benn have made their ‘own history’
In a wide-ranging interview which will be available on the 5 Live Boxing podcast, Eubank Jr speaks candidly about the pressure of being the son of British boxing legend Chris Eubank Sr.
“Now it’s not so much about living up to my dad’s aura and expectation. That used to worry me but now that’s just not part of who I am,” he said.
Eubank Jr was scheduled to meet Benn in October 2022, 30 years after their fathers Nigel Benn and Eubank Sr fought, but the fight was cancelled when it emerged Benn had failed two voluntary drug tests.
Benn, who has always insisted he is innocent of intentionally doping, is currently suspended from fighting after UK Anti-Doping and the British Boxing Board of Control successfully appealed against the lifting of his ban.
But Eubank Jr says “that chapter cannot be closed” and insists he will call the shots on a potential future bout between the pair.
“I imagine it’s going to happen in the next 12 months. As soon as he gets his licence back and his career back on track, that fight will happen,” Eubank Jr said.
He added: “[Benn] has no say in anything now. He’s lost all his privileges. You can’t fail a drug test and come back and say ‘I still want weight clauses and rehydration clauses’. Now you take what you get. Now you’re the bad guy.
“Now it’s not just about how our dads fought. Now we have our own beef. We have our own story. We have our own history.”