Is Chris Eubank Jr Set to Repeat His Father's Tricks to Beat Billy Joe Saunders?

This Saturday in London, Chris Eubank Jr. will compete in his first serious contest when he challenges the British and European middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders.

Both fighters have immaculate records—Saunders, 25, is on 20-0 while Eubank, also 25, is on 18-0, but going past mere numbers, Saunders has fought at a much-higher level.

BoxRec's computerised rankings have the champion at 14th in the world with his challenger down at 57th.

Five of Saunders' last seven fights have gone the full 12-round distance while Eubank has not gone past eight rounds and has never even been in a fight scheduled for 12.

The British champion has beaten John Ryder and Nick Blackwell, the two other best young British middleweights, but Eubank has preferred to feast on sub-par Eastern European opponents with names like Ivan Jukic and Stepan Horvath.

Despite this large gulf in experience and previous competition, the bookmakers have this a near 50:50 fight with the current odds implying that Saunders has a 55 percent chance of victory and Eubank a 45 percent chance.

The perceived closeness of the fight comes in large part from the Eubank mystique conferred on Junior from his world-champion father and the suspicion that history may be about to repeat itself.

Go back to 1990 when the relatively inexperienced Eubank Sr. fought Nigel Benn when Benn was the WBO middleweight champion coming off big stateside wins against Doug DeWitt and Iran Barkley.

If Benn was a proven top-five guy in the division, Eubank was perhaps 15th and had not been tested against the top British fighter Michael Watson or any leading American talents.

Yet although Benn was the betting favourite and many thought his challenger had simply talked his way into an undeserved title shot, Eubank absorbed Benn's legendary power before himself lowering the boom in Round 9 when the champion ran out of gas.

That fight had been preceded by a good 18 months of needle until the two fighters became locked in a bitter rivalry that continued down the years.

Benn was so fired up to KO his verbose challenger that he may have begun the fight with more vigour and intensity than he could maintain, ultimately precipitating his defeat.

Eubank Jr has followed the same script, adopting an aloof persona and speaking dismissively of Saunders—who is now riled up and perhaps over-eager to shut up his Brighton rival.

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At the one pre-fight press conference Eubank has deigned to attend, his calm, measured demeanour seemed to unnerve Saunders somewhat, the Hatfield man having had it all his own way at previous events when there was nobody answering back at him.

Like his father, Eubank could be about to catapult himself into global contention with one big step-up win.

This fight stands as an eliminator for the WBO middleweight title that Sr once held, with the winner expected to fight either Matt Korobov or Andy Lee, who contest the vacant belt next month.

Eubank Sr has compared his son to Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Ray Leonard, lofty words which would be laughed off were they coming from the average over-excited fighter's father but given some credence given Eubank's own successful career and track record of backing up his big words.

Junior is known to have sparred with super-middleweights Carl Froch and George Groves and to have at least held his own, but that is not guaranteed to transfer to a real contest. Froch in particular is known as a fighter who saves it for the big nights.

That Jr is now on a run of 10 straight stoppage wins is less impressive than it sounds, given the quality of opposition, and may even be counter-productive because he has not really had suitable learning fights prior to facing a solid, unbeaten pro like Saunders.

Eubank has amassed some impressive YouTube highlight reels showcasing seemingly devastating speed and power but against opponents of the sort Saunders has not bothered with for at least three years and against whom he would surely close the show just as early and as easily.

Five of Eubank's first eight fights went the distance so the question is whether he has genuinely developed into a power-puncher or if he has simply been fighting carefully picked opposition to make him look the goods.

And while Sr was moving up in class to fight Benn back in the day, it was not such a gap as his son needs to close on Saturday night—his father had experience of facing opponents who fought back and of going the full distance.

The war of words may even have backfired and given Saunders extra motivation, with him posting a training photo on Twitter that showed a much more chiselled physique than he usually displays.

Also, Saunders has the natural tactical advantage as a southpaw, and Eubank, with less amateur experience than his Olympian opponent, will also have that awkwardness to deal with in the contest.

There is no doubt, however, that the Eubank camp think things are going exactly to plan and that they have lured Saunders into the fight they wanted.

Saunders has somewhat become the forgotten man in this. He has proven himself a good fighter, maybe even a very good fighter—and yet few people see true greatness in his future. He is the sort of boxer who might win a lesser world title if well matched but who is unlikely to unify a division.

Eubank is the enigma, the exciter, the man who could be all things. If he comes from nowhere and knocks out Saunders, he will be the most talked-about middleweight other than Gennady Golovkin and the hype will go off the machine.

A Eubank win shakes up the middleweight division whereas a Saunders win would be seen as normal service, a much more experienced fighter dismissing an untested domestic rival before entering global contention.

Based on solid boxing logic, Saunders should win this fight, although given his lack of serious KO power, perhaps he will have to settle for a judges' decision.

There is, however, a great swell of momentum behind the challenger. He vaults the ropes wearing the signature Eubank yellow, postures with irresistible confidence and dazzles the eye with blistering combinations.

And yet, that does not make him the real deal just yet. As Sr acknowledged this week to the BBC: "The Eubank name is one of the most recognised in British boxing, which is why so many fans are craving another Eubank."

Whether the surprising betting odds, the sparring stories, the huge interest in Jr are justified or if his premature promotion is wishful thinking from the typically nostalgic boxing world, all will be revealed on Saturday night.