Chris Eubank Jr will not fall for his opponent Wanik Awdijan’s “Mr. Nice Guy” act and vowed to punish him for their war of words.
Eubank Jr returns to the ring on Saturday night in Newcastle, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Arena from 7.30pm, alongside Hughie Fury’s heavyweight fight and Savannah Marshall’s world title defence.
Eubank Jr insisted that he has been fired up by Awdijan’s verbal provocations: “It has, yes.
“He started the press conference by trying to be the nice guy and complimenting me – ‘I’m a great boxer’ and all this stuff.
“But you can’t go from saying the things that you said on social media to then trying to be Mr. Nice Guy.
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“I’m not going to let that fly.
“So I called him out, then we saw his true colours.
“He fancies himself, he thinks he will cause an upset. It’s my job to stop that at all costs.”
They had previously rowed, with Eubank Jr saying: “I’m disappointed in this man here because he had so much to say online. So much heat and energy came from his social media.
“Now? I see a man who doesn’t have the same fire.”
Awdijan asked: “Why didn’t you fight me the first time?”
Eubank Jr said: “Because you were overweight.”
Awdijan: “Three kilos? You were scared. Everyone has their excuses.”
Eubank Jr then warned him: “I want to make sure that you understand this – before you said the things that you said, you were just a guy that I needed to beat to get to the next guy. There was no malice.
“After seeing the things you said? I have a reason to terrorise you. I hope you understand the position you have put yourself in.”
Eubank Jr reflected on his rival’s attempts to unsettle him: “If you don’t have the confidence to go out and perform, you will get hurt.
“The guy is 28-1 so he knows what he’s doing.
“I’m not underestimating him at all.
“But I know what I am. I know what I can do. I know what I’ll do to him on Saturday night.”
Eubank Jr is targeting a return to the ring later this year in a blockbuster fight.
Sky Sports Boxing schedule
October 16 – BOXXER in Newcastle
Savannah Marshall vs Lolita Muzeya – WBO middleweight title
Hughie Fury vs Christian Hammer
Chris Eubank Jr vs Wanik Awdijan
October 24 – Top Rank in Atlanta
Jamel Herring vs Shakur Stevenson – WBO super-featherweight title
October 31 – Top Rank in New York
Jose Zepeda vs Josue Vargas
November 6 – Top Rank in Las Vegas
Mikaela Mayer vs Maiva Hamadouche – IBF and WBO super-featherweight titles
November 6 – BOXXER in Liverpool
November 20 – BOXXER in London
Richard Riakporhe vs Olanrewaju Durodola
Caroline Dubois professional debut
November 20 – Top Rank in Las Vegas
Terence Crawford vs Shawn Porter – WBO welterweight title
December 11 – Top Rank in Las Vegas
Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Richard Commey
December 17 – Top Rank in Montreal
Artur Beterbiev vs Marcus Browne – IBF and WBC light-heavyweight titles
December 18 – Top Rank in Glasgow
Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall – undisputed super-lightweight title