By Ian S Palmer
Renold Quinlan vs Chris Eubank Jr. Preview February 3rd
Chris Eubank Jr. of England will be taking on IBO Super Middleweight Champion Renold Quinlan of Australia this Saturday, February 4th. The 12-round bout from the Olympia in Kensington, London can be seen live in the UK on ITV pay-per-view. Quinlan last fought in October when he stopped former IBF and WBA Middleweight champ Daniel Geale in the second round to win the vacant IBO Title. Eubank was last in the ring in June when he stopped Tom Doran in the fourth round to retain his British Middleweight Championship.
The 27-year-old Eubank will enter the ring with an impressive record of 23-1 with 18 Kos to his name, but he’s yet to face an elite opponent. He may be facing a fringe world champion on Saturday, but Quinlan has just 12 pro bouts under his belt and fought just 15 times as an amateur. One thing the Englishman will have going for him in this bout is the hometown advantage as well as good power and boxing skills, However, they still weren’t enough to beat Billy Joe Saunders in November of 2014 as he dropped a 12-round split decision to the current WBO World Middleweight Champion for his only career loss.
Eubank enters the contest with 132 rounds of experience since turning pro back in 2011. He’s faced mainly Grade B or lower opponents though and has never fought outside of his homeland. At the age of 27 he needs to step up his level of opponent if he hopes to become a respected world champion like his father Chris Eubank was. No offence to Quinlan and Saunders, but fans are getting tired of Eubank facing less than stellar opponents and there’s no reason for it since he possesses the skills and power to be competitive against world-class boxers.
Eubank’s list of opponents also includes Nick Blackwell, Dmitri Chudinov, Gary O’Sullivan, Bradley Price and others most boxing fans have never heard of. Unfortunately, most fans have never heard of the 27-year-old Quinlan either even though he is the WBO champ. The Aussie’s record stands at 11-1 with 7 Kos and he’s boxed 56 rounds since turning pro in 2008. His height and reach are unlisted while Eubank stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72.5-inch reach. Quinlan’s current knockout ratio is 58 per cent and Eubank’s is an impressive 75 per cent.
Quinlan’s lone loss came at the hands of Jake Carr by 10-round unanimous decision in December of 2014. Other than Geale, most of Quinlan’s opponents are unrecognizable and this will be his first bout outside of Australia. Eubank will climb into the ring after undergoing acupuncture treatments for hypertension on his elbow in the weeks leading up to the fight.
Prediction…
Quinlan appears to be a good guy with some skills and power, but he’s not active enough to be known by most boxing fans and this inexperience will likely hurt him. He’ll give it his best here, but Eubank should be able to take the title and will probably do it by stoppage.
