Chris Eubank Jr and Billy Joe Saunders are already at odds over A-side
WBA #1 rated middleweight “Next Gen” Chris Eubank Jr (30-2, 22ko) and two-divisional champion “Superb” Billy Joe Saunders (30-1, 14ko) are already at war over A-side privileges before fight talks can begin. Eubank has been going after Saunders hard. He believes the broken orbital bone that stopped the fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was fake and that Saunders quit.
“The guy is perfectly fine. He quit, he got a black eye, and he did not want it anymore with Canelo.”
Next Gen would then go on to challenge the two-divisional champion to a fight.
“If he ever grows a pair and wants to get back into the ring, we are here.”
Saunders immediately responded, demanding a $5 million payday to come back and defeat his adversary once again. Their rivalry stems from Eubank tasting defeat for the first time against Superb back in 2014.
“5m, and I will come back and spank you once again. Man down.”
THE BATTLE FOR A-SIDE RIGHTS
Well, fans should not get too excited about the fight taking place as both fighters seem to share a different view over who would be the A-side. TalkSport has reported that Eubank scoffed at the $5 million demand, believing that Saunders does not have a leg to stand.
“The funny thing is he’s not in a position to be demanding anything. He has no belt. He has no credibility in the sport after quitting against Alvarez after saying he’d die before taking a knee in the ring.”
Eubank continued to double down on this core belief his rival has no leverage to be making demands.
“He has no credibility. He has no power in the sport, so he can’t be saying he wants $5 million. He’ll get what he’s given. I’m the A-side, and once he understands that, we can talk.”
In fairness, Eubank is not the only one that felt Saunders used the eye injury as an excuse to immediately stop the fight. Many inside the boxing community felt that the two-divisional champion did not back up his words of being willing to die in the ring before bowing out.
During the build-up to the fight, on several occasions, Saunders made it clear it was do-or-die, all-or-nothing, sink-or-swim, and when the fight was stopped so abruptly, fans felt cheated. However, he is still a two-divisional champion and has fought in a big fight with Alvarez. That does demand a certain amount of leverage in negotiations.
Saunders took to social media to respond and remind his rival of his in-ring shortcomings.
By: Garrisson Bland
