Chris Eubank Jr sets out his 2023 wishlist: First Liam Smith, then Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez | Boxing News

January 1, 2023 admin

Chris Eubank Jr is planning a major year and has set out his wishlist for fights in 2023.

Eubank has made it clear that he wants to box three times over the course of the next 12 months.

First he will fight Liam Smith on Saturday January 21 at the AO Arena in Manchester, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Then, if Eubank could have his way, he would box Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, two of the biggest names in world boxing.

“Golovkin number one because he has those middleweight belts and it’s a fight that can and should be made,” Eubank told Sky Sports.

“I guess Canelo would be number two. He’s the big name. He’s the guy everyone knows in the sport and I think I can beat him. Those would be my two Christmas wish list fights for the rest of the year.”

Golovkin has been an opponent that Eubank Jr has targeted for many years. In 2016, they came close to signing a contract to fight, only for that bout to fall through.

Last year Golovkin unified the IBF and WBA middleweight titles when he beat Ryota Murata in Japan.

Although he lost to Canelo Alvarez in a lacklustre performance in September, that was at super-middleweight. The Kazakh therefore still holds his championships at 160lbs.

Now Eubank believes 2023 is the time for that fight to happen.

He says it would be “a huge shame” if that Golovkin fight were to elude him again.

“But I don’t think that’s going to happen. He’s a prideful guy and he has the belts,” Eubank added.

“So he’s never going to be the type of guy to just give them up. Someone’s going to have to take them from him and that somebody is me.

“There’s nobody else that people want to see him fight more than me. We have a long history. That fight could have been made a few years ago and it slipped through my fingers.

“Now we’re in a position where he can’t go anywhere else. The biggest payday, the biggest name out there is me so hopefully we get this fight made after the Smith fight, in the summer.”

There has been speculation that Alvarez could consider fighting in a UK stadium against John Ryder later this year.

However Eubank is adamant that he would be the best option for the Mexican superstar.

“That’s a no brainer – then there’s literally no one else here that people would want to see more and that’s not just in the UK. That’s worldwide. On the worldwide scene I’m up there. People know that that’s the fight that will be the most exciting out of all these guys, middleweight or super-middleweight,” Eubank insisted.

“I think that will be a bit of a shame if he did choose to go down that route with John Ryder because there’s just no excitement there. The guy can fight, John can fight, but he’s not exciting and he can’t talk [well].

“So you’ve got two guys who can’t talk trying to build a fight, it’s just going to be so boring and aside from that the most important thing is the fighting styles and my fighting style is a lot more exciting than John’s.

“Canelo, if you want to fight in the UK, you’re looking at the guy you need to get in the ring with.”

However his year pans out, Eubank knows he has a host of appealing options. If he loses that first fight to Liam Smith, a rematch would be even bigger.

“The exciting thing is there’s so many other names out there in and around my weight class. So the list is endless. You’ve got all the world champions in the middleweight division, you’ve got a load of domestic fights that can be made that people are dying to see,” Eubank said.

“So I’m in a great position. I’ve just got to stay active. That’s the key for me; being busy.”

It all starts for him on January 21.