Chris Eubank Jr declares victory over ‘jealous’ George Groves will prove a cornerstone in his career
Eubank Jr angrily hit back at comments he was an ‘Insta-famous’ boxer by promising to beat Groves in the World Boxing Super Series semi-final on Saturday night
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Your support makes all the difference.Chris Eubank Jr accused George Groves of jealousy ahead of their world title showdown this weekend, before claiming victory in the eagerly-anticipated World Boxing Super Series semi-final will prove a cornerstone in his career.
Groves is making the second defence of his WBA super-middleweight title at the Manchester Arena on Saturday night, while Eubank Jr is putting his lesser-regarded IBO belt on the line.
The pair were reunited at the final press conference ahead of their eagerly anticipated contest, with Eubank Jr keen to address recent criticism by Groves that he is merely an ‘Insta-famous’ boxer: more interested in posting training videos to social media and enjoying the company of celebrities than taking big fights.
“You've called me a 'gimmick' and 'Insta-famous' and you are obsessed with this whole - trying to get across to the public that I'm not real,” Eubank Jr said in response.
“But this is a defining fight for me, this is the fight that can propel me to the top of the sport, it gives me the right to say I am legitimately the best super-middleweight in the world.
“Two world titles, that's every fighter's dream and it's just the beginning - it's collection season, I'm coming for all the belts. After this tournament all the other guys who hold belts are all on the hit list. George Groves is just the first one to bite the dust.
“This is my time, this is my opportunity to prove everything I've been saying is real and it's to prove that the doubters, the naysayers, the keyboard warriors are wrong.”
Eubank Jr, who has won his last eight fights since losing on points to Billy Joe Saunders in November 2014, added that Groves’ comments were likely down to jealousy.
“I think you would love to be me, you would love to be in my position. You would love to have the Instagram followers and the style (that I have),” he said.
“You're even wearing the same suit I wore when we had our first face-off after your fight. I think you're jealous, George.”
Despite holding the WBA title, which he won in May 2017 with a stoppage victory over Fedor Chudinov, Groves heads into the fight as the narrow underdog.
But unlike Eubank Jr, who has been criticised in the past for accepting a series of underwhelming fights, Groves is well accustomed to fighting on boxing’s biggest stage. He fought and lost to Carl Froch in a pair of iconic domestic world title fights in 2013 and 2014, and claims those experiences will stand him in good stead of Saturday night's fight.
“This is not my biggest fight to date but I am in the form of my life, certainly in the best shape of my career, and fully prepared to go out and retain my world title in style,” he said.
“I'm world champion and I want to continue to be. I've sacrificed a lot, I've been through some terrible times to get to where I am now. Desire is one thing that I know I've always had in abundance. I've been able to pick myself up from the lowest of points to get back to the top.”
Groves also added that Eubank Jr will “probably blame his dad” – who was conspicuous by his absence at Wednesday’s press conference – after the semi-final showdown.
“Junior is flapping already,” he added. “He is a cliche, he is a gimmick. I've been here, I've done this many, many times. This is just another step along my journey.”
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