It feels rather fitting to be writing about Chris Eubank Jnr on Halloween, not because he is a villain, or even remotely scary, but instead because he has worn so many masks in his 35 years. Some masks were worn as a disguise, some were worn for protection, and some represent a front, or a public face. Whatever the purpose, behind each of these masks one could accuse Eubank Jnr of retreating, hiding. There is a possibility, too, that behind these masks he was pulling an expression to contradict the words that were being said at the time, the aim always to give us more tricks than treats. 

Today, as a 35-year-old son of a famous fighter, it is hard to say with any certainty whether Eubank Jnr has ever revealed his true face in public. For years the face we all saw when looking at him was the face of his father, a former world champion at both middleweight and super middleweight in the 1990s. This too was a mask to some degree and, again, behind it Eubank Jnr could hide, find protection. He could also use it to open doors that would have otherwise been closed to him and then enter rooms and discover inside them people willing to do business with him based purely on both the mask he was wearing and the power of his surname. 

After a while, though, one could sense Eubank Jnr became tired of this. He became tired of wearing this particular mask and he became tired of forever being associated with his father, who was often there beside him at press conferences and standing in front of him – surveying him yet saying nothing – in the corner during fights. At some point Eubank Jnr outgrew that mask of old and in doing so revealed a bit more of his own face. Now we could see the resemblance to his father but also, and more importantly, the eyes of a man determined to break free from his father’s shadow and stand on his own two feet. A young man growing up, in other words; a boxer ready to fulfill his undoubted potential. 

There had by this stage been defeats – against the likes of Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves – but these had always been considered mere lessons for Eubank Jnr, with a mitigating factor for each. Against Saunders, for example, he felt he had been robbed by the judges, while against Groves he was battling a natural super-middleweight who was ultimately too big and too long for him. In the right fight, against the right opponent, everything would be different for Eubank Jnr, they said. He had the genes, he had the talent, and he had the ambition. All he needed was his moment and that would be it. He would at last break free from his father’s shadow. 

Ten years on from that Saunders loss, however, and we are still waiting for both his time and this moment. He has by now distanced himself from his father – both publicly and, sadly, in private as well – but without him around Eubank Jnr, 34-3 (25), appears no more certain of his identity. If anything, in fact, the absence of his old man has only further inflated the Eubank Jnr ego and encouraged him to create a mask of his own. Indeed, it is behind this newest mask that Eubank Jnr finds himself now free to call out promoters for allegedly wronging him and stalling his career or causing him to miss out on marquee fights and paydays. It is also behind this mask that Eubank Jnr continues to goad the biggest names in the sport without any intention of ever following through and delivering on his threats.

Only recently there was talk of Eubank Jnr fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the Mexican they all target when wanting to get paid. However, this talk, which was started by Eubank Jnr and then embellished by Ben Shalom, his latest promoter, came to nothing when Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez’s manager and trainer, pooh-poohed it in a chat with Dan Rafael on Wednesday (October 30). “It’s totally false,” Reynoso said. “Eubank had his chance to fight Canelo in September and the only thing he did was complicate the negotiations. We will not touch base with him again for a future fight. I don’t like making statements but what I declare is true.”

It is easy to believe him, for this is not the first time Eubank Jnr has claimed to be close to fighting a big name only to decide against it at the 11th hour (remember Gennady Golovkin in 2016?). Nor is it hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for Alvarez’s people to make Eubank Jnr see sense when he continues to wear and do business behind a mask. Behind this mask Eubank Jnr is able to convince himself he is one thing, yet the likes of Canelo Alvarez see something else. They see not a superstar, or a future legend, but instead a 35-year-old B-side who has, since losing to Saunders and Groves, been stopped in four rounds by Liam Smith. They appreciate the value he can still bring, albeit just in the UK, but that, for Alvarez and his team, is doubtless the extent of the appeal. Beyond that, there is really nothing else. A win over Eubank Jnr would be no great feat for Alvarez, nor would such a result enhance his legacy in any way, shape, or form. In which case, just as Eubank Jnr has often said in public about others, what is in it for him? 

This line in fact was used again by Eubank Jnr not long ago in relation to another potential opponent: Hamzah Sheeraz. Sheeraz, at 21-0 (17), is the shiny new toy in the middleweight division, only unlike a shiny new toy nobody really wants to pick it up and play with it. Eubank Jnr, in particular, has shown zero desire to box Sheeraz, despite the fact Sheeraz vs. Eubank Jnr makes a lot more sense than a fight like Alvarez vs. Eubank Jnr. He has instead belittled Sheeraz at every turn, mocking the money on offer to fight him and also questioning Sheeraz’s lack of profile and overall relevance. And yet, despite the supposed high-risk, low-reward nature of it from Eubank Jnr’s point of view, here we have a fight of real significance to both, irrespective of which of the two has more followers on social media or the pricier car in the driveway.  

If, in the end, Eubank Jnr cares only about the material and superficial, all roads probably lead to a man after his own heart: Conor Benn. It was Benn, after all, Eubank Jnr was meant to box two years ago, a fight aborted only because Benn failed a performance-enhancing drug test – two of them – and the promoters of the fight failed to find a way to circumnavigate the system and proceed with the fight. Now, though, with enough time having passed, and with the right wrists having been slapped and various cheeks turned, it seems only natural – inevitable even – for Eubank Jnr and Benn, two men familiar with putting on a front, to reconnect and take to the stage next year. All they must do in the meantime is ensure the masks they currently wear do not slip and that they take the time to learn their lines.