Chris Eubank Jr insists he will train himself for his fight with IBO super-middleweight champion Renold Quinlan.
The 27-year-old returns from an eight-month absence on Feb. 4 when he takes on Australia's little-known Quinlan at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London.
After completing rehab on an elbow injury and fighting for the first time at the 168lbs division, on a new platform under a new promoter, Richard Poxon, his next match feels like a fresh start, but there will be no new trainer in Eubank's corner.
His only professional defeat, by Billy Joe Saunders in 2014, came when long-term assistant Ronnie Davies was given little authority. He has also since undergone trial periods with the respected Adam Booth and the Dominican Republic's Maximo Pierret.
The combination of each suggested Eubank was not entirely satisfied with the direction he was being given, but, ahead of a fight he hopes will gain a significant audience, he is adamant he does not need a trainer and he will continue as he has long worked.
"Ronnie [Davies] doesn't train me, but he's an old dog now, he can't hold the pads anymore," he said.
"I have a pad man called Anthony Brown; he has been with me since my amateur days and he just knows me, he knows my work ethic so we gel well together.
"The rest I do myself; I don't need somebody to push me or tell me what to do, Ronnie will put the sparring together, but I know what to do now, after years of training and learning what your body does.
"The main thing is sparring. There is no one telling me that I have to do this many rounds on the bag, 'You have to skip for this long, run this far.' That is all set by me because I know myself.
"Some fighters need to be told about 10 rounds on the bag or this roadwork or this amount of sparring. I am not the type of guy who needs that.
"I will push myself as far as I can without having some one watching me and saying that I need one more round.
"I am the fighter who will say I want to do one more round even when I am knackered.
"We tried Adam Booth. He is a good trainer, but outside of the ring there were things we were not happy with.
"Maybe [later] in 2017 we will take a different avenue; there are more options for us."
Eubank Jr agreed to February's fight having spent three months in Dubai towards the end of 2016, during which he underwent painful treatment on a long-term injury he hopes will no longer return and undermine him.
"Having needles and electricity shot through my arm every week; I was getting treatment out there," he said. "It was hyper-extension of my elbow, which meant I couldn't use my right hand.
"I was getting treatment constantly for the three months, with a top doctor, who looks after the royal family out there. I was getting shockwave therapy.
"It's to do with them shooting electricity into the muscle. I was also getting dry needling, where they get these long needles, stick them into the area and slowly pull them out. This wasn't a joke, it was very painful."
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