Eubank Jr to face O’Kane in February?

O’Kane, who has been in the ring as an amateur with some of the highest profile fighters in his division and now boasts an unbeaten professional record, has spoken of his desire to trade leather with rising star Eubank Jr.

The Banagher man had spoken earlier this week of his hopes of facing off against the British fighter in just a few weeks time, on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s bout on December 1 at the Odyssey in Belfast.

That fight has now fallen through, according to O’Kane’s manager Francie McNicholl, who told the Sentinel their offer to fight Eubank Jr had been declined. He said: “It think it would be a big step up for him to fight Eamonn.”

Mr McNicholl is, however, still hoping to secure a bout with Eubank Jr for his fighter, adding: “We are still looking at the possibility. Possibly in February, when we are thinking of doing a show in Ebrington in Derry - that could be a possibility for the fight.”

Speaking earlier this week, ‘King Kane’ himself said: “We have asked for the fight a few times and they have turned it down. They asked me to fight Paul Moffett on the Fury bill at the Odyssey, but that did not happen, so we asked if I could fight Eubank jr.

“We are still waiting for a reply but we will wait and see what happens. But it would be a great fight for me and when I win it it would move me up the rankings.”

The son of Chris Eubank, a man almost as famous for his personality as for his boxing prowess, Eubank Jr has a professional record of seven wins, no losses and no defeats. He has been trained from a young age by such luminaries as Floyd Mayweather Sr and middleweight great Mike McCallum.

Eubank Jr is being put forward as the next big thing in British boxing - but that does not put O’Kane off. “He is a good young boxer, but I believe I would beat him. I just think my work rate would be too much for him. We have asked for the fight - so let us see if they take it. I want the fight, so it is up to them.”

Now however, O’Kane’s manager Francie McNicholl said that Eubank Jr has declined to take on the fight at the Odyssey: “They declined that offer again. That’s where we stand at the moment. We are still looking at the possibility. Possibly in February, when we are thinking of doing a show in Ebrington in Derry - that could be a possibility for the fight.” Mr McNicholl warned Chris Eubank Jr, however, that O’Kane would be more than ready for him: “I think it would be a big step up for him to fight Eamonn.”

He admitted that O’Kane is having trouble finding opponents at the minute, saying that very few people are “willing to share the ring with him.” He added: “If we can get an opponent he is still hoping to take part on the Tyson Fury bill on December 1. The problem with Eamonn is that nobody wants to share the ring with him. We still haven’t secured an opponent for him and there is no point going back to fight someone over again. We have a committment from Hennessey (who are promoting the Tyson Fury show) and we are still working on it. Eamonn is still in training so it wouldn’t be a problem even if it is in just a few weeks.”

Mr McNicholl also represents Paul McCloskey, who parted company with his trainer of seven years John Breen recently. The Dungiven duo’s manager said that he is fully expecting Paul McCloskey to be a part of the ‘show’ at Ebrington in February. He said: “Paul will be a part of it. He will be fighting in February and we are talking to a few people about that as well.”