Collins wants Steve Jr v Chris Eubank Jr next year

A third Steve Collins v Chris Eubank installment could be the biggest fight of 2018 – according to the Celtic Warrior himself.

Ireland’s first ever two-weight world champion isn’t coming out of retirement to face his old foe, rather he believes his son Stevie [9(4)-0-1] and Chris Eubank Jr could trade leather next year.

The pair are at different weights and different stages of their careers at present, but a fight down the line would garner attention due to the history between their legendary fathers.

Both fighters have named dropped each other during the early stages of their respective careers, but have always stressed they have their own paths to follow.

However, ‘The Celtic Warrior’ believes the fight could be a massive 2018 event. and has gone as far as to suggest the only thing that could stop it is super middleweight Eubank Jr [24(19)-1(0)] being defeated again.

“We sat ringside at Chris Eubank Jr’s fight the weekend [v Renold Quinlan] and their is a very strong possibility that fight could happen in the future.”

“We are not looking for it right at this moment, although if it was offered we would take it. We have watched him up close and we have seen flaws and seen things we would punish, things others don’t seem to capitialise on. Stevie has to focus his next fight, but we are looking further down the line and I really think that could be one of the biggest fights of 2018,” Collins said at a press conference where Pablo Sosa was confirmed as his son’s February 25th ‘Unfinished Business’ opponent.

“My only concern is Eubank Jr doesn’t keep winning. We are that confident we would take it now, but we would prefer to wait until the purses would be more evenly matched.”

Eubank, who twice lost to Collins in massive 1990s WBO super middleweight title fights, has been frequently criticised for an over-involvement in his son’s career to date – with people going as far as to suggest that he is trying to step back into the spotlight via his son.

Collins did suggest his nemesis has been ‘over the top,’ and claims he takes a different approach with the Paschal Collins-trained light heavyweight.

“I am very proud of Stevie, I don’t want to sound like Chris Eubank Jr and go over the top about my son, but I am proud,” the Irish fight legend continued.

“Stevie has his own style and his own way of fighting. We are here to help him develop, but he is his own man and his own fighter. If we see something wrong or something he needs to work on we suggest it and point it out, but at the end of the day he is the boss and we are just there to help. It is exciting for me to see him doing what he does and I am glad I called him Stevie cause he is keeping the name alive.”

In terms of profile, at present Eubank Jr’s is much, much higher than the Dubliner’s. Indeed, he now has a massive ITV platform from which to further self-promote and has been linked with world champions like Gennady Golovkin, James DeGale and Billy Joe Saunders.

Collins – who fights for the eleventh time as a pro, and for the first time at the National Stadium, later this month – hasn’t quite yet secured the publicity of his English counterpart, but Collins claims that things are about to change for ‘The Wolfhound.’

“Steve has been kept a secret. We have been moving him slowly and he is now ready to step up to the next level. People in the trade know about him, but it’s time for the public to see him now.”