British fighter Chris Eubank Jr. is the middleweight king of boxing after being named number one in the weight class.
A glance at the daily boxing statistical website BoxRec showed that Eubank’s victories over Liam’s Williams and Smith place him at the top of the 160-pound tree.
The son of a legend is pictured gleefully wearing his ‘I’m BoxRec #1’ t-shirt as he accepts the honor. Eubank is rated the best of over 1500 middleweight fighters in the sport today. It’s some accolade for the Brighton man, considering he doesn’t hold any recognized world titles.
Jermall Charlo, the WBC titleholder, is rated at three. Unified IBF and WBO ruler Janibek Alimkhanuly is at six. Meanwhile, WBA champion Erislandy Lara gets omitted after being classified as inactive despite a forthcoming defense against Michael Zerafa on March 30.
Chris Eubank Jr. – The Middleweight King
So what makes Eubank’s run at middleweight so special that it puts him above everyone else? Well, that’s something only BoxRec’s panel can answer.
‘Beefy’ Smith lies in second place despite losing his last fight and is one of three British boxers in the top four. Only Charlo stops a UK monopoly in the division. Hamzah Sheeraz, a rising prospect who stopped Eubank’s old foe Williams in one round, is after Charlo.
According to the WBN Pound for Pound Top 50, the top three should read Janibek, Charlo, and then Eubank. Despite not being rated in the WBN P4P Top 50, Lara would probably come in fourth due to his two-year absence. For his money, Smith would not be in the top five after being stopped by Eubank so handily.
At 15-0 and having bulldozed his way to a pair of championships, the undefeated Janibek is certainly about Charlo at one and two. The fact Charlo hasn’t fought at 160 pounds since 2021 is the only reason he’s not at the helm, but he’s still above Eubank in terms of achievement.
Charlo fought at 166 when out-pointing Jose Benavidez Jr. in Las Vegas last November. He didn’t look at his best, and it’s questionable whether he could ever make the middleweight limit again.
Eubank Jr. vs Sheeraz
A fight with Canelo Alvarez could happen in May. Charlo will undoubtedly relinquish the World Boxing Council gold if that happens over the coming days. Eubank could still miss out on the chance to compete for the vacant green belt. Meiirim Nursultanov of Kazakhstan and compatriot Sheeraz are both rated above him.
Sheeraz is currently with Frank Warren, while Eubank is aligned with Wasserman and BOXXER. If Warren and BOXXER could strike a deal for a vast UK clash, the WBC may allow the vacant title to be on the line. However, that would only be on the provision that the victor faces Nursultanov in their first defense.
Even if Eubank became the WBC middleweight champion in 2024, he’d still only rank third on the world middleweight list.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
