Chris Eubank Jr sets out his 2023 wishlist: First Liam Smith, then Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez | Boxing News

Chris Eubank Jr is planning a major year and has made a wish list to fight in 2023.

Eubank has made it clear that he wants to box three times in the next 12 months.

First he will fight Liam Smith on January 21 at the AO Arena in Manchester, live in Sky Sports Box Office.

Then, if Eubank can, he will box Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, two of the biggest names in the world of boxing.

“Golovkin is number one because he has the middleweight belt and this is a fight he can and should fight,” Eubank said. Sky Sports.

“I guess Canelo will be second. He’s a big name. He’s a guy everyone knows in the sport and I can beat him. These will be two Christmas wishlist fights for the rest of the year.”

Golovkin has been Eubank Jr.’s targeted opponent for years. In 2016, he almost signed a contract to fight, just for that match.

Last year Golovkin unified the IBF and WBA middleweight titles when he defeated Ryota Murata in Japan.

Although he lost to Canelo Alvarez with a poor performance in September, it was in the super middleweight division. That’s why the Kazakh still holds the championship at 160lbs.

Now Eubank believes that 2023 is the time for that fight.

He said it would be a “huge shame” if the Golovkin fight were to take him away again.

“But I don’t think that will happen. He is a proud man and has a belt,” added Eubank.

“So he’s not going to be the type of person to just give up. Someone has to take it from him and the other person is me.

“No one wants to see him fight more than me. We have a long history. That fight could have been done a few years ago and it slipped through my fingers.

“Now we’re in a position where we can’t go anywhere else. The biggest payday, the biggest name out there is me so hopefully we can make this fight after the Smith fight, in the summer.”

There is speculation that Alvarez could consider a fight in a British stadium against John Ryder later this year.

But Eubank remains adamant that he would be the best option for the Mexican superstar.

“It’s a no brainer – then there is literally no one else here that people will want to see another and that’s not only in the UK. That’s the world. In the world scene I’m up there. People know that the fight will be the most exciting of all men this, middle class or middle class,” Eubank said.

“I think it would be a bit of a shame if he chose to go down that route with John Ryder because there’s no excitement there. Guys can wrestle, John can wrestle, but he’s not exciting and he can’t talk. [well].

“So you’ve got two guys who can’t talk trying to make a fight, it’s just going to be boring and the main thing is their fighting style and my fighting style is more fun than John’s.

“Canelo, if you want to fight in England, you’re looking at someone you need to get in the ring with.”

But as the year comes to an end, Eubank knows he has plenty of exciting options. If he loses to Liam Smith, the rematch will be even bigger.

“The exciting thing is that there are a lot of other names in my weight class. So the list is endless. You have all the world champions in the middleweight division, you have a lot of domestic fights that you can do. It makes people curious,” said Eubank.

“So I’m in a good position. I just have to stay active. That’s the key for me; keep busy.”

It all started for him on January 21.

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