Tannenbaum knows a thing or two himself about the middleweight division as he was the publicist and close confidant of top middleweight contender Mustafa Hamsho who, from the late 70’s through the late 80’s was arguably the #2 middleweight in the world next to Marvin Hagler.
Hamsho defeated a who’s who of middleweight contenders and ex-champions including Britain’s own Alan Minter, Wilfred Benitez, Bobby Czyz, Curtis Parker, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts and Wolford Scypion among others. Tannenbaum has had his eye on the middleweight division over the years and has some strong opinions on Chris Eubank Jr. and his clash with Billy Joe Saunders.
“Eubank Jr. is the best middleweight prospect I’ve seen since Hagler,” Tannenbaum told World Boxing News. “The kid is the real goods. He’s got all the tools. I think he’s that special kind of fighter that comes along once every few decades. I think he possesses an iron clad constitution both physically and emotionally. He moves very well, has excellent hand speed and punches with a great deal of authority–his uppercut is one of the best I’ve seen.
“Like Andre Ward, he’s a very difficult fighter to move. It’s going to take a helluva fighter to beat him,” he said.
Asked for a firm prediction on the upcoming Saunders vs Eubank bout, Tannenbaum added: “Eubank Jr. will do a real number on Saunders. I suspect that Eubank Jr. will get him out of there within six rounds.
“There’s nothing I see that Saunders has over Eubank Jr. Saunders is a pretty fair boxer and a half ass puncher. Maybe his southpaw style and movement will allow him to hang in there for a few more rounds but I can’t see a way that he wins this fight.
“My guess is that Saunders’ corner will have him move a great deal in the early going in the hopes of tiring Eubank Jr. out. But there’s nothing that I’ve seen that leads me to believe that Eubank Jr. has any stamina problem.
“Saunders will try to lock up Eubank Jr. on the inside, especially when Eubank Jr. corners him. But Eubank Jr. is too strong for Saunders and sooner or later his punches will get through and it will all be over for Saunders.
“The braver Saunders gets, the earlier exit it will be for him. If he trades with Eubank, he’s out of there early.” declares Tannenbaum.
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