Chris Eubank Jr on his trainer Roy Jones Jr: ‘The tactics, the thought process, the mind-set I have now is different’

Chris Eubank Jr insists his trainer Roy Jones Jr “will add years to my career” and has taught him about “being smart” inside the ring.

Eubank Jr’s comeback is against Marcus Morrison on next Saturday’s Sky Sports Box Office undercard, alongside Derek Chisora vs Joseph Parker and Katie Taylor vs Natasha Jonas.

It will be his first fight since linking up with boxing legend Jones Jr, who was once a rival of his father’s.

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Eubank Jr told Sky Sports about his improvements: “Mentally is the biggest part. Physically? I’m 31, I won’t be a changed fighter, my style is what it is. There are things he has tweaked or made me focus on, but the main change is how I mentally approach these fights.

“The tactics, the thought process, the mind-set that I have now is different.

“Being with him will add years to my career.

“It’s not about going to war every time anymore. It’s about being smart and not getting hit.

“Some of those things I had lost focus on. I put that down to moving up to super-middleweight – knowing I was against guys who were naturally bigger, I got it into my head that I had to hurt them early so they didn’t bully me. I lost sight of the boxing.

“At middleweight nobody will bully me, nobody is bigger than me, so I can focus on the art and craft rather than the war aspect.

“I will still go to war – when there is an opportunity, these guys will get taken out!

“But there are new aspects to my game.”

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Eubank Jr’s father had previously told Sky Sports: “Junior has speed. Roy had speed. There is the synergy.

“When someone has speed they throw four punches to your one, you cannot beat them. If Junior picks up five per cent from Roy, that is enough to see him through to achieve all the things that he wants.

“Five per cent is enough to make him blossom and fly.”

Since Eubank Jr’s career-best win against James DeGale in February 2019, he has had just two rounds of in-ring competition.

“Ring-rust is a factor and Morrison is the perfect opponent,” he said about his comeback. “He is solid and he can punch so I can’t let my guard down.

“He has shown heart, he can punch. He’s not somebody to take lightly. So I’ve trained hard, like I would for any fight, and I will be at 100 per cent on the night.

“This is a fight to get me back in the mix. I’ve been out of the ring, really, for two years which has been tough.

“What can you do? The answer was to go away and learn, to improve, and to not stagnate like a lot of fighters have done.

“I have trained in Florida with Roy Jones Jr for a year-and-a-half and, although I haven’t been in the ring, I have improved.

“I’ve got at least another solid four or five years left. This was the perfect time to get new blood, a new set of eyes and ears, and new training methods into my camp. I have listened to them and learned from them, and it has paid dividends.

“You will see the fruits of my labour.”