Four-weight world champion turned trainer Roy Jones believes his charge Chris Eubank Jr is one of the most explosive fighters on the planet and ready for the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.
Modern great Jones took over training duties for middleweight Eubank last year and the duo forged an instant connection, with their first fight together a 10-round points win over Manchester’s Marcus Morrison in May.
But Jones and Eubank have bigger targets in mind. The Brighton man is currently the WBA’s No.1 contender at 160lbs and, according to promoter Kalle Sauerland, on course for a world title shot at the end of 2021.
Jones insists that Eubank (30-2, 22 KOs) is capable of mixing it with the best in the sport and that they share a similarly explosive fighting style.
“I know that he can fight with anybody. Matter of fact we really want an opportunity to fight Canelo,” Jones told Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “I know he’s a little bit smaller but because of his explosiveness I’m not worried. I was smaller than [WBA heavyweight champion] John Ruiz [in 2003] but because of my explosiveness I know it made up for it.
“I know that Chris Eubank can fight anybody that he wants because of his explosiveness, but we do have to teach him more about down time. But right now we want GGG [Gennadiy Golovkin] but we’ll take Canelo, too, because it’s a great fight for us. The explosiveness is what gave me the edge in my own career. He’s highly explosive and he’s with a guy that knows about being explosive.
“This kid is one of the most explosive fighters on the planet. The problem I have with him and that other people have had in the past is that he’s too explosive. If he can calm some of that explosiveness down and [I can] teach him to do a little bit more boxing, which he showed in his last fight, he can be something fun to watch because when he turns it on, he turns it on. You really have to be able to withstand some stuff to be able to weather that storm.”