Chris Eubank Jnr lined up for December in Nigeria; Moses Itauma-Anthony Joshua the dream
While boxing is forever looking for the next big check, there are some hoping to utilise boxing to galvanise their communities.
Dr Ezekiel Adamu, head of Balmoral Promotions in Lagos, Nigeria, is hoping to become a significant player in the sport, while the sport enhances what is on offer for residents in Nigeria.
They have already started rolling out events, fight cards that include both sanctioned matches and influencer bouts.
The next show is on July 31 and, in December, he hopes Chris Eubank Jnr will box on one of his events.
“We are working on one this December, which actually includes Chris Eubank Jnr, and with another fight, I'm not allowed to say that [what bout it is] yet, but I believe this December, we should buy us that time to get into the proper big league of promoters as well. We are looking to do a big stadium fight this December, so we are building.”
They have a head start, too, galvanised by the online numbers for their last controversial promotion that saw streamers threaten to get out of hand with the “celebrity beef” of two of the well-known combatants.
Balmoral are trying to fuel entertainment with sport, having some licensed bouts share bills with streamers in a bid to increase the number of eyeballs on their shows.
“You can’t really argue with the last show we’ve done where we’ve done about two billion views across all socials and about 4.2 billion impressions across all socials as well,” Dr Adamu added. “I think we’ve got some of our posts on DAZN that has done 16 million views and just one post, some have done 8 million views. So, yeah, so it’s a growing sport, and then what we’ve done as well too is to infuse a bit of entertainment into it as well too.”
But Dr Adamu hopes their promotions will inspire more young men and women in Nigeria to take up boxing, and he has grand plans.
“Before I got into boxing, I think I have the largest network of venues here in West Africa, so I know about venue management, I know about venues,” he added. “We are looking to get concession of some venues as well, too, from the government, where we bring investment to be like something like the London Olympic Stadium, and so that’s the long-term plan, what we’re doing. What we’re building is beyond boxing, to be honest with you. It’s a proper infrastructure when it comes to sports development… To be honest with you, I think we started boxing about 18 months ago and then where we are at the moment, I don’t think any African promoter has gotten promotion to get to this level before. I think the biggest one we've done before was Zaire and that was Don King coming here to promote fight here in Africa. I have a 10-year plan, I’m trying to achieve that in six months and see how it goes. So I’m an overachiever, I’ll keep pushing. The time we’ll get there, I don’t know.
“It could be the next one, it could be by the end of this year, it could be next year, who knows. But here, it’s never about perfection for us, it’s about momentum. I think the biggest one we’ve done before was Zaire and that was Don King coming here to promote fight here in Africa [George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali in 1974].”
Does Dr Adamu have a dream fight, a modern day rumble he has in mind that he’d like to showcase in Africa?
“I would say if it’s to do with a fight here in Nigeria and Africa, that makes sense, especially in Nigeria, I would say a Moses Itauma and AJ [Anthony Joshua] fight because they’re both Nigerians. Maybe get [Deontay] Wilder on the card as well, because he’s got Nigerian blood in him as well. Get [Daniel] Dubois also on the card. He’s also got Nigerian blood in him. But I mean, for me, the big fight would be AJ versus Moses Itauma in Nigeria.”
Chris Eubank Jr. - What's next?
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Ruthless-RKO
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Ruthless-RKO
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Re: Chris Eubank Jr. - What's next?
Eubank Jr. lined up for December ring return in Lagos, Nigeria
Chris Eubank Jr could return to the ring in Nigeria this December, in a fight described as the biggest African event since the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle.
Eubank Jr has not boxed since he was widely outpointed by his bitter rival Conor Benn in their November rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
He has since been addressing the health issues which badly affected his preparation for the fight against Benn, who he had beaten via UD when they first met in The Ring's 2025 Fight of the Year last April.
Eubank Jr, who has been urged to retire by his famous father Chris Sr, had been linked with a move to Matchroom and Eddie Hearn but now it seems his next fight could take place in Nigeria.
Dr Ezekiel Adamu, the man behind the Chaos in the Ring events broadcast live on DAZN, recently hosted the 36-year-old in the Nigerian capital of Lagos.
He insists they're close to agreeing a deal for the Brighton star to box there before year's end.
“I still think Chris is one of the biggest draws in boxing so we got him over here to have a look at what we’re doing,” Adamu told The Ring.
“We got him to meet the president and the big sponsors to let him understand what we're doing.
“He went out and about in the streets and absolutely loved it. And I now believe the next time we'll be seeing Chris Eubank in the ring should be in Nigeria at some point this year — and it will be a very huge matchup.”
It is now 10 months since Dr Adamu outlined ambitious plans to The Ring regarding his vision to stage an Anthony Joshua fight in Nigeria, which have so far failed to materialize.
He has since been behind events which have featured the likes of Lawrence Okolie and Dan Azeez but says his plans for Eubank Jr, a more commercially viable Brit, will be the biggest fight in Africa for more than 50 years.
Adamu added: “We haven’t had a fight as big as this since Muhammad Ali against George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle and I think the matchup we will put together for him to fight here, outside of Joshua against Tyson Fury, will be the biggest fight this year.
“It will be happening in December because December is like our summer in Nigeria. We are looking at a legacy opponent and Chris loves legacy. He wants to make legacy and this sort of fight will do that. It is hard to be surprised in boxing these days but I believe when people see what we have planned they will be shocked.”
Eubank Jr (35-4, 25 KOs) is still yet to sign a contract for any fight in Nigeria but Adamu believes all parties could reach an agreement for the fight within a fortnight, with DAZN and Netflix both in the frame to broadcast the event.
He added: “The vibe I get from Chris is if he got another offer from another location but Nigeria is the same amount, he will pick Nigeria. He wants to fight here and I believe it will happen.
“Within the next couple of weeks, we should have it over the line. We'll be speaking with DAZN and also Netflix to see which one we're going to go with.”
Chris Eubank Jr could return to the ring in Nigeria this December, in a fight described as the biggest African event since the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle.
Eubank Jr has not boxed since he was widely outpointed by his bitter rival Conor Benn in their November rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
He has since been addressing the health issues which badly affected his preparation for the fight against Benn, who he had beaten via UD when they first met in The Ring's 2025 Fight of the Year last April.
Eubank Jr, who has been urged to retire by his famous father Chris Sr, had been linked with a move to Matchroom and Eddie Hearn but now it seems his next fight could take place in Nigeria.
Dr Ezekiel Adamu, the man behind the Chaos in the Ring events broadcast live on DAZN, recently hosted the 36-year-old in the Nigerian capital of Lagos.
He insists they're close to agreeing a deal for the Brighton star to box there before year's end.
“I still think Chris is one of the biggest draws in boxing so we got him over here to have a look at what we’re doing,” Adamu told The Ring.
“We got him to meet the president and the big sponsors to let him understand what we're doing.
“He went out and about in the streets and absolutely loved it. And I now believe the next time we'll be seeing Chris Eubank in the ring should be in Nigeria at some point this year — and it will be a very huge matchup.”
It is now 10 months since Dr Adamu outlined ambitious plans to The Ring regarding his vision to stage an Anthony Joshua fight in Nigeria, which have so far failed to materialize.
He has since been behind events which have featured the likes of Lawrence Okolie and Dan Azeez but says his plans for Eubank Jr, a more commercially viable Brit, will be the biggest fight in Africa for more than 50 years.
Adamu added: “We haven’t had a fight as big as this since Muhammad Ali against George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle and I think the matchup we will put together for him to fight here, outside of Joshua against Tyson Fury, will be the biggest fight this year.
“It will be happening in December because December is like our summer in Nigeria. We are looking at a legacy opponent and Chris loves legacy. He wants to make legacy and this sort of fight will do that. It is hard to be surprised in boxing these days but I believe when people see what we have planned they will be shocked.”
Eubank Jr (35-4, 25 KOs) is still yet to sign a contract for any fight in Nigeria but Adamu believes all parties could reach an agreement for the fight within a fortnight, with DAZN and Netflix both in the frame to broadcast the event.
He added: “The vibe I get from Chris is if he got another offer from another location but Nigeria is the same amount, he will pick Nigeria. He wants to fight here and I believe it will happen.
“Within the next couple of weeks, we should have it over the line. We'll be speaking with DAZN and also Netflix to see which one we're going to go with.”
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jameswilson
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Re: Chris Eubank Jr. - What's next?
His popularity means he can probably do a David Hayes and get decent money for fighting cans until a really big opportunity comes up.
Which to be fair he has done himself for large parts of his career.
Which to be fair he has done himself for large parts of his career.
Re: Chris Eubank Jr. - What's next?
I wouldn't be opposed to him taking a tune up fight, especially after the disaster with Benn. However, I fear it would turn into a series of meaningless tune up bouts while treading water for the "big opportunity" bout.