Carl Froch believes Chris Eubank Jr is capable of beating Gennadiy Golovkin – although Froch isn’t convinced he beats Liam Smith this weekend.
Eubank Jr and Smith will lock horns at the Manchester Arena this Saturday night, in what is a make or break fight for both men’s careers.
A one way rematch clause is in place, so Eubank will have the option to get another crack at ‘Beefy’ should he fail to emerge with the victory.
The contest will take place at Eubank’s natural home of middleweight, with Smith stepping up from super welter for the first time in his professional career.
Froch told Sky Sports that Golovkin’s advanced age means he could be ripe for the picking for a fighter like Eubank.
“Chris Eubank’s a little bit wild. He likes to try and box and move and tries to keep on that back foot, especially as he’s got Roy Jones training him now. I think he tries to probably be a little bit cleverer than he actually is.”
“I think if you try to overdo the Roy Jones elusiveness, handspeed and skill, you can come unstuck against someone like Liam Smith. Because they’ll time you.”
“This is a fight that could go either way and I’ve not made up my mind about who I think wins. Either of these fighters could win this. But if he does manage to get the victory over Smith, he needs to be looking at a world title fight at middleweight.”
“Gennadiy Golovkin’s over 40 now and I know what it’s like to be over 40. You slow down, you’re not as fast. Your reflexes aren’t there and our best years are behind you. So absolutely Eubank could beat him.”
The boxing world is seemingly split down the middle on the fight, although bookmakers have made Eubank Jr a marginal betting favourite.
Read Boxing Social’s industry predictions for Eubank vs Smith.