'It opens your eyes'

Chris Eubank Jr tells Alex Pattle about becoming a father figure to his late brother's son, and his ambitions to follow his next bout in Riyadh with Middle East 'mega-fights'

- Alex Pattle

Chris Eubank Jr’s life changed irreversibly in 2021, when his younger brother Sebastian died. That tragedy, jarringly set against the tranquil backdrop of a beach in Dubai, was far from the first in the Eubank fighting family. It not only left Chris Jr without a brother, but his legendary father with one son fewer, and Raheem – just one month old at the time – without a dad.

At least, at first. In the fallout of the 29-year-old Sebastian’s passing, Eubank Jr recognised a rare responsibility. “I took the role, I guess, of a father figure for Raheem,” he tells The Independent, sinking into a sofa in the corner of a boxing gym in his hometown of Brighton. “It opens your eyes to certain things. You experience certain emotions when you’re around kids that... I haven’t really had as part of my life, ever.

“He’s like my son,” Eubank Jr adds, before swiftly amending his statement. “He is my son.” It is uncannily similar to what Chris Sr said about his nephew Harlem last year, when Sr’s brother Simon died. Eubank Jr continues: “It’s a special feeling being around him, and it makes me think about having my own kid, giving him a brother, raising them together. It’s enjoying that new side of life.”