Quinlan confident he can knock Eubank Jr. out
By Anthony Cocks
When Australian Renold “Dunghutti Destroyer” Quinlan 11-1 (7) steps into the ring to face England’s Chris Eubank Jr 23-1 (18) at London’s Olympia on February 4th he will have only one thing on his mind: an early night.
The confident Aussie knows he will need a dominating performance away from home to get the win.
But once he flattens the polarizing Eubank Jr. on ITV’s pay-per-view premiere, Quinlan is looking forward to making even more noise on the world stage.
Since defeating former IBF and WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale last November, Team Quinlan have had their eyes firmly set on the big international names: Puerto Rican puncher Miguel Cotto, evergreen German Felix Sturm and, of course, Kazakhstan’s undefeated middleweight wrecking ball Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin.
Styles make fights.
Lapani Wilson, the uncle and long-time trainer of IBO super middleweight champion Quinlan, firmly believes this and sees no reason why his nephew wouldn’t come away victorious against the Kazakhstani middleweight widely regarded as the most feared man on the planet.
“Triple G, I just love that fight,” revealed Wilson. “He comes in a bit like Tyson, very square, which would be perfect for Ren.
“For me this kid would knock out Triple G, anytime.”
Wilson concedes that a fight with the number one 160-pounder in the world would likely have to happen at a catchweight of 163-164 pounds, but insists that the seemingly insurmountable challenge is part of their plan.
“We have Triple G on the map to conquer and we’re working towards that plan,” said Wilson.
The number of potential challengers who have gotten cold feet when it comes times to sign the contract to fight Golovkin is long and varied. Eubank Jr. made a name for himself last year when he balked during negotiations and saw his opportunity snatched away from him by the wiry and wry Kell Brook.
This isn’t lost on Wilson.
“Even the guy we’re fighting (Eubank) didn’t want to fight him,” he laughed.
Quinlan, 27, has been boxing’s quiet achiever for some time now, even in Australia.
After a stop-start beginning to his career that saw him fight just three times in the first five years since joining the pay-for-punch ranks, Quinlan has finally settled down and is taking his boxing seriously.
Quinlan, the proud son of a Fijian mother and Aboriginal father, lost his only pro bout in 2014 when he faced off against then-undefeated Jake Carr for the Australian title. For the family-orientated Quinlan, temporarily splitting up with his wife and mother of his children in the lead-up to the bout had a negative impact on his mindset going in to the fight.
Since then Quinlan has gone 3-0, with all victories coming by the early route.
But it was the Geale victory that made people sit up and take notice. Not only did he get the Tasmanian out of there more quickly than either Cotto or Golovkin managed, he became the first man to score a KO over the former middleweight champion.
If everything goes to plan against Eubank, Team Quinlan want to see their guy sharing the square circle with Golovkin before the year is out.
“He is very different from any other boxer,” said Wilson of his nephew. “He will be ready for Triple G in fifteen fights. Renold would put his lights out, simple.”
Chris Eubank Jr vs Renold Quinlan is available Feb. 4 on ITVBOXOFFICE.CO.UK
The nine-fight card will also feature heavyweight contender David Price and undefeated super-bantamweight Kid Galahad.
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Abuse? Email: anthonyc1974@gmail.com
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