Chris Eubank Jr attempts to put himself in contention for huge fights in 2025 as he takes on Kamil Szeremeta on Saturday night.
The bout takes place on what is a big night of boxing, headlined by the undisputed light-heavyweight showdown between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, with Fabio Wardley facing a rematch with Frazer Clarke and Jai Opetaia also in action on the latest Riyadh Season show.
Eubank has been out of the ring for more than a year since he beat Liam Smith last September, avenging the defeat earlier in the year, and the 35-year-old has since signed with Boxxer as he attempts to kick his career into gear again.
Eubank has claimed that a fight with Canelo Alvarez was close, one he ultimately turned down due to inactivity, but he insists that is a target for next year, as is a showdown with Conor Benn, to settle a saga that has now been running on since their scheduled bout in 2022 was called off at the last minute.
Szeremeta goes into this fight as a significant underdog, in what is his first bout outside of Poland in more than three years.
The 34-year-old, who has a 25-2-2 record as a professional, retired on his still against Gennady Golovkin when challenging for his world titles in 2020, and then did the same against Jaime Munguia a year later. Szeremeta’s last bout was a draw with Colombian Abel Mina in February.
Eubank Jr vs Szeremeta fight date and venue
Eubank vs Szeremeta takes place on Saturday October 12, 2024 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Chris Eubank Jr goes up against Kamil Szeremeta on Saturday night
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Eubank Jr vs Szeremeta fight time and ring walks
Ring walks for Eubank vs Szeremeta could take place at around 9pm BST, though that depends on the length of bouts on the undercard and the running order on the night.
The main event is expected to get underway at around 11pm BST on Saturday night, which is 6pm ET in the United States and 3pm PT.
The undercard is set to begin at 7pm BST, 2pm ET and 11am PT.
How to watch Eubank Jr vs Szeremeta
TV channel and live stream: In the UK, Eubank vs Szeremeta is being shown live via DAZN pay-per-view at a cost of £19.99, with a free seven-day trial included.
The event is also available to purchase on TNT Sports Box Office for £19.99 or Sky Sports Box Office for £19.95.
Live blog: Round-by-round coverage of Saturday’s whole event can also be found via Standard Sport’s live fight night blog.
Eubank Jr vs Szeremeta undercard
Wardley and Clarke face off for a second time, after their epic British heavyweight title clash earlier this year, while Ben Whittaker will hope to once again put on a show and Skye Nicolson defends her WBC women’s featherweight title against Raven Chapman.
Jai Opetaia, who won the vacant IBF cruiserweight belt with victory over Mairis Briedis in May, makes his first defence against British challenger Jack Massey.
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey
Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke
Chris Eubank Jr vs Kamil Szeremeta
Skye Nicolson vs Raven Chapman
Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
Mohammaed Alakel vs Jesus Gonzalez
Eubank Jr vs Szeremeta prediction
It is difficult to know what to expect from Eubank, who has spent plenty of time in recent years insisting he is ready to step up and take on the biggest names for world titles. Now 35, he is beginning to run out of time to do just that.
Defeat to Szeremeta would be close to career-ending for a man who maintains he can toe-to-toe with Canelo, and so there should be no complacency from Eubank, even if much of the talk is about what could come in 2025.
A superb display against Liam Williams at the start of 2022 should have been the springboard for Eubank to challenge at the top table, though instead the main action surrounding him has come outside of the ring.
Eubank proved too good in stopping Smith 13 months ago, even if the Liverpudlian appeared to be a long way off his best, but it has been a frustratingly long period out of action since then.
Whether Eubank is able to maintain the intense style and work-rate that has characterised much of his career as he approaches the final stages of his career remains to be seen, but he should have little issues in getting the job done on Saturday night.
Szeremeta was well-beaten on the two occasions he has faced a significant step up in opposition, and while Eubank is not at the level of Golovkin and Munguia, he is likely to fall short again.
It could be a fairly cagey start, as Eubank gets the rust off after a spell out of the ring, but he should be able to overwhelm his Polish opponent heading into the later rounds.
Eubank to win by stoppage, round nine.
Must win: Chris Eubank Jr’s career is effectively on the line
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Eubank Jr vs Szeremeta odds
Eubank Jr to win by knockout or technical knockout: 2/5
Eubank Jr to win on points: 15/8
Szeremeta to win by knockout or technical knockout: 22/1
Szeremeta to win on points: 22/1
Odds via Betfred (subject to change).
