Chris Eubank Jr. Features in 5 British Fighters Whose Stocks Fell in 2016
Having already picked out the Brits who saw their stocks rise in 2016, the time has come to take a look at those who have seen their standings dip over the same period of time.
The aim of this list is not necessarily to single out fighters who've suffered bad results over the last 12 months.
While wins and losses obviously matter, performances play a key part in building a boxer's reputation. Even how you carry yourself out of the ring makes a difference to your standing in the sport.
Just to be clear, the boxers chosen are listed in alphabetical order.
And, as ever, feel free to have your say via the comments section.
Honourable Mentions
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While honourable mentions may not be the best term to use in this case, there were several fighters who were fortunate to avoid selection.
Anthony Ogogo's pro career suffered a further setback when he lost to Craig Cunningham in October. Pulled out by his corner in Round 8, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist was later diagnosed with a serious eye injury.
Ogogo has already dealt with an Achilles tendon injury and a dislocated shoulder since turning pro in 2013.
Hosea Burton also suffered a first loss as a pro this year. His reign as British light heavyweight champion came to a dramatic end when Frank Buglioni knocked him out in Round 12 in their Dec. 10 meeting.
Liverpudlian Stephen Smith lost out twice when attempting to win world titles in 2016.
After falling short in his bid to take the IBF strap from Jorge Pedraza in April, Swifty then lost out in a war with WBA champion Jason Sosa in November.
Kell Brook and Amir Khan could also have made the list after suffering painful defeats in world title fights, too.
However, both have been spared a place because they jumped up in weight to challenge star names Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez.
Chris Eubank Jr.
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Chris Eubank Jr. has had an interesting year to say the least. While undoubtedly talented, his boxing abilities are rarely the main story.
He actually won both his outings in 2016, beating Nick Blackwell to win the British middleweight title before going on to successfully defend the belt against Tom Doran.
There was meant to be another defence against Tommy Langford, too, only for an elbow injury to scupper those plans.
However, in revealing he was pulling out of the fight on medical grounds, Eubank Jr.—who dallied over a deal to fight Gennady Golovkin, allowing Kell Brook to step in instead—released a rather bizarre statement.
"There has not been a fighter in the history of British boxing who has had such a vast chasm of fighting prowess between him and the contenders for the British Championship in ability, speed, strength, accuracy and skill," his team said, per BBC Sport.
He also added the plan was to go on and "fight high-calibre world competition" in the future.
So, it was a surprise when Team Eubank announced the 27-year-old's next outing will be against Renold Quinlan—an unheralded Australian with an 11-1 record—at super middleweight.
Even more surprising was the revelation the bout shall headline a pay-per-view card on ITV Box Office. The plan went down like a lead balloon on social media, suggesting not many will cough up to watch.
Frankie Gavin
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Like others on this list, Frankie Gavin's talent isn't in doubt. His problem in the paid ranks has been a lack of dedication to the cause.
After watching Gavin lose to Sam Eggington at welterweight in October, Matthew Macklin told Sky Sports:
"He needs to have an honest conversation with himself. How much does he want it? Does he want to continue in this sport or does he retire? I don't see him being successful as a welterweight - he can mix it, but he's coming off second best.
He doesn't live the life outside the ring - when he goes home he'll have a burger or a curry. He's got to learn to diet. If he carries on boxing, he has to go down to light-welterweight.
"
It seems the penny may have finally dropped—Gavin revealed on Twitter he's hired a nutritionist ahead of a planned return to action in 2017.
There is still time for Funtime Frankie to realise the huge potential he displayed when becoming England's first-ever world champion in the amateurs, back in 2007.
Life in the pros hasn't been quite so successful. The southpaw won 19 in a row at first, but he has since lost three of his last seven outings, including a failed attempt to take the IBF title from Kell Brook in 2015.
Against Eggington, he was brave and occasionally flashed moments of brilliance. Eventually, though, he was worn down in the battle of Birmingham, losing by stoppage in Round 8.
If he can stick to the required regime and live the life of a pro fighter, Gavin can still prosper. However, at 31, time is no longer on his side.
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David Haye
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David Haye's comeback is still intriguing, yet the heavyweight has shown us absolutely nothing so far on his return to action.
The Hayemaker's two appearances in 2016 lasted a combined total of four minutes and 42 seconds.
Mark de Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj were hardly of a suitable standard to try to work out what the two-weight world champion has left in the tank. In truth, they were not even suitable for use as sparring partners.
A fight with the talkative Shannon Briggs appeared to be in the pipeline, yet that failed to materialise.
Instead, the Londoner's next fight is against a cruiserweight world champion stepping up. While taking on Tony Bellew in a pay-per-view bout will reap financial reward, it will do little to aid Haye's reputation.
While understandable that Haye needed to blow away a few cobwebs after three-and-a-half years out of the ring, it would have been nice to see him fight a bona fide heavyweight.
Power is often the last thing to go for an ageing boxer, and the 36-year-old's 87 per cent knockout ratio proves he can bang.
However, can he really still mix it with the younger generation? Hopefully, if he gets beyond Bellew, we will find out the answer to that question at a later stage in 2017.
Billy Joe Saunders
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At the end of 2015, Billy Joe Saunders was celebrating becoming a world champion.
The middleweight dethroned Andy Lee to claim the WBO title in December 2015, and he was quick to talk about the possibility of taking on the biggest names in the division.
However, unification fights against fellow world champions Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez never materialised.
Financial disagreements scuppered a clash with GGG, while Saunders turned down the chance to appear on the undercard to Canelo's super welterweight title fight with Liam Smith.
There wasn't even the consolation prize of a rematch against fellow Englishman Chris Eubank Jr.
It seemed we had dodged a bullet when a bout with Max Bursak bit the dust due to injury, yet Saunders' one and only outing of the year ended up being against the relatively unknown Artur Akavov.
The southpaw was perhaps fortunate to get a unanimous points victory in December—then he admitted in the aftermath he had "stunk the place out," per Ronnie Esplin of the Press Association (h/t the Daily Mail).
Ordered to take back-to-back mandatory defences by the WBO, Saunders desperately needs to be busy in 2016.
Scott Quigg
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Frustrating. That is the best word to describe Scott Quigg's year.
As if losing a unification clash against longtime rival Carl Frampton wasn't painful enough, Quigg suffered a broken jaw in the early stages of the fight in Manchester, England.
In fairness to the duo, it was always going to be tough for their bout to live up to all the hype. Much like Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the final product was poor (although thankfully there was no sighting of Jar Jar Binks inside the arena).
According to CompuBox's stats (h/t BoxingScene.com), Quigg landed just two punches during the first three rounds.
He did improve his output as the fight wore on (it was nigh-on impossible to do any less), but the slow start left him with too much ground to make up down the stretch.
IBF champion Frampton not only picked up the WBA title with a split-decision points victory, he also claimed bragging rights as Britain's best super bantamweight.
Poor Quigg had to stew over the disappointment for months. A reaction to the plate inserted into his jaw delayed his comeback even further, leading him to find comfort in food.
When the 28-year-old did finally return, it was up at featherweight. He battered Jose Cayetano in his comeback fight on Dec. 10, yet the jury is still out over the decision to step up to a new division.
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