Having promised to atone for a topsy-turvy 2021, #1 WBA middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr will face a stiff test of his world championship aspirations when looking to silence domestic rival Liam Williams in enemy territory at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff on December 11.
Fighting talk: Eubank, Williams keen to shut one another up
After falling short but giving a good account of himself during an unsuccessful WBO middleweight title bout against Demetrius Andrade on April 17, Liam Williams (23-3-1, 18 KOs) believes Chris Eubank Jr (31-2, 23 KOs) will catapult him back into world level competition.
Eubank Jr, who has beaten Marcus Morrison (UD, 10 rounds) and Wanik Awdijan (R5, corner retirement) in 2021, has arguably coasted a bit too much for comfort against lesser opposition.
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It’s why Williams – a durable, tricky opponent – fancies his chances of spoiling Sky Sports’ new promotional direction, with Eubank featuring as one of their stars under the BOXXER banner.
“It’s been coming for a long time, I can’t wait to shut his mouth once and for all. There’s nothing like a big domestic showdown to get the juices flowing, a lot of people have called for this fight for a long time – I think it’s the biggest all-British fight outside of AJ and Fury.
I’m really excited, just counting down the days. I’ve not been that impressed with Chris’ recent performances, people talk about how he’s brought Roy Jones in to improve him but I don’t think he’s improved one bit.
A win in this fight and possible even a stoppage, my name is going to be well and truly out there and in the mix for world titles.”
It sounds cliche but it’s true, Eubank can’t worry about fights against the Ryota Murata vs. Gennadiy Golovkin winner (Dec. 29) and more unless he gets the job done next month.
Considering Golovkin is past his prime and Canelo Álvarez is king at 168lbs, this division remains up for grabs as far as bullish contenders are concerned – but Eubank Jr needs credible opponents like these to bridge the gap between mediocrity and world-class expectations.
“Liam has said a lot to try catch my attention, bait me into fighting him.
It’s now got to the point where everyone is asking me to shut him up, I’m going to give them what they want. As I’ve said, I’m only involved in big fights from now on – this is the fight they want to see.
They want to see if Williams can back up what he’s been saying – he won’t. I’m on a mission towards world titles and I’ve got to go through him to get there.”
- Eubank Jr, keen to dismiss Williams with a flawless showing next month
BoxRec’s rankings has him third behind Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) and WBC titlist Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) while TBRB and The Ring have him lower in the top-ten – #7 and #8 respectively.
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That is behind the likes of Ukraine’s Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Golovkin’s highly-regarded young compatriot Janibek Alimkhanuly (10-0, 6 KOs) as well as Mexico’s talented Jaime Munguía (37-0, 30 KOs) – who is scheduled to fight a seasoned veteran in Gabriel Rosado on Saturday night.
Ben Shalom, BOXXER’s founder and CEO, had this to say about next month’s bout:
“This fight will be incredible.
They genuinely dislike each other, come forward non-stop and Eubank is heading into the dragon’s den to settle their dispute on Williams’ home soil. I’ll be amazed if this doesn’t turn out to be British boxing’s fight of the year.”
Picture source: Sky Sports, Getty — quotes via BoxingScene
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