Boxing news: Eubank Jr reveals main MISTAKE from Groves loss ahead of DeGale showdown
CHRIS EUBANK JR has completely changed his preparation for the challenge of James DeGale after pinpointing it as part of the reason he lost to George Groves last February.
Eubank Jr had the backing of many pundits heading into his super middleweight clash with Groves in the World Boxing Super Series last winter.
What ensued was a gutsy performance bereft of strategy, as Eubank meandered to a unanimous point loss in Manchester.
One year on and Eubank Jr has another pay-per-view clash at 168lb, but with his career’s welfare truly on the line this time.
Not taking the grudge match lightly, Eubank Jr has, for the first time in his career, drafted in a full-time trainer in Nate Vasquez.
I didn’t have a trainer for that fight. I didn’t have a gameplan, a strategy
That decision is one of many geared towards making the Brightonian better equipped than he was 12 months ago.
Asked what he learned most from the Groves loss, Eubank Jr told SecondsOut: “Preparation is key.
“I didn’t have a trainer for that fight. I didn’t have a gameplan, a strategy.
“I made mistakes in the fight, my chief sparring partner was a 6ft 7in cruiserweight, who fought nothing like George.
“It was the wrong preparation. Now I have a full-time trainer, I have full-time sparring which represents what James DeGale is. And that’s going to enable me to perform better.
“We have a gameplan, we have a strategy - everything is tailored and focused, that’s what it has to be like at this elite level.
“You can’t afford to be giving your opponents any kind of advantage, and that’s what I’ve been doing my entire career by not having a trainer.
“We’re not doing that anymore.”