Chris Eubank Jnr has opened talks over a hugely ambitious shot at boxing’s most feared puncher Gennady Golovkin.
The growing uncertainty surrounding Golovkin’s proposed mega-fight with Saul Alvarez has left the Kazakh potentially short of an opponent and Eubank Jnr claims to be desperate to face him towards the end of this year.
Eubank Jnr’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, made contact with Golovkin’s representative, Tom Loeffler, on Wednesday evening and further discussions are planned.
Sportsmail understands that The O2 would be under consideration for October.
Eubank Jnr will first defend his British middleweight title against Tom Doran on June 25, with another outing planned for the end of August or beginning of September. Should a fight with Golovkin materialise, the autumn bout would likely be scrapped.
Hearn said on Thursday: ‘My instructions from the Eubanks are clear: make the Golovkin fight. Many people talk about fighting him but not many would sign and bite your hand off to get it. Here we have a young fighter who will do it now.
‘I want to get this message across: we are ready to commit to a deal today.’
Golovkin had hoped for a blockbuster with Alvarez, who blew away Amir Khan this month. However, Alvarez has vacated his WBC middleweight belt, throwing those plans into disarray.
Eubank Jnr will focus on his fight with Doran, who is unbeaten in 17, but admitted he has an eye on a fight that would represent a major step up in class.
He said: ‘I am sure Tom is going to try to cause an upset. That is what people want to see. I am ready.
‘It is one fight at a time but when you know you are working towards a super-fight it plays a role in your preparations. It makes me train harder and focus more, knowing I am going another step towards a world stage fight with Golovkin.
'Anyone who has a belt, I am pursuing. I want to take them out in devastating fashion.’
Eubank Snr also indicated a future fight with super-middleweight world champion James DeGale, with whom his son has an acrimonious history after a sparring dispute.
Eubank Snr said: ‘After Jnr cleans up there is a fella called James DeGale. He was rude to Jnr some years ago and we remember this. We have you on our minds.’
Article courtesy of the Daily Mail
