Eubank Jr says Groves bout will let him escape father’s ‘shadow’

London (AFP) – Chris Eubank Jr says his world title fight against WBA super-middleweight champion George Groves will enable him to come out of his father’s shadow and stamp his mark on the sport.

Eubank Jr, the son of former two-weight world champion Chris Eubank, takes on fellow British fighter Groves in their World Boxing Super Series semi-final at the Manchester Arena on Saturday.

“It’s inescapable. My father has done too much in the sport for us to not be compared,” the 28-year-old told the BBC Sport website. “We have the same name. 

“I’ve accepted that there’s never going to be a stage, it doesn’t matter what I do, where there won’t be comparisons, where there won’t be people saying, ‘oh no, his dad was better’. I accept that.

“This fight here between me and George Groves, February 17, this is the type of fight that will help to separate me and my father, really stamp my name into boxing, really separate myself, really come out of my father’s shadow.

“I am my own man. I have my own path, I have my own style. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have made it in the sport.”

Eubank Jr, whose father is part of his team, said there were still people who did not believe in his abilities but he had worked hard to establish himself.

“You can’t say or do anything to me that I haven’t seen or had done to me before,” he said.

“I’ve still got to prove my worth in this sport and with a fight like this many of the doubters, many of the haters, many of the non-believers, many of the keyboard warriors, they will come away after this fight with a changed perspective.”