CHRIS EUBANK Jr wants to hit the boxing jackpot to give his nephew the life he deserves.

In July 2021, Raheem was only a month old when his dad Sebastian  — the younger brother of Chris Jr — died of a heart attack in Dubai, aged 29.

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It meant uncle Chris became a dad overnight and three years on Raheem, who has just started school, is now chasing him around the practice ring ahead of his middleweight clash with Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

At 35, Eubank Jr looks  unlikely to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a world champion — with a scrap against nemesis Conor Benn likely to follow.

But he explained that the total devastation that struck his family  left him with a new drive in the shape of a nephew he now treats like his own son.

He said: “I remember going to my brother’s grave for the first time and that’s where I first met Raheem and I held him in front of the grave and it calmed me down.

“His energy and him being very quiet while on my chest gave me peace.

“I felt then that everything would be OK.

“I felt that we might have a second chance here.

“I love that little boy. I use Raheem as a tool to strengthen my will and my soul and my spirit.

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“Raheem is going to live a long and fulfilled life and I only have a few years of boxing left.

“So I need to do everything I can over the next three or four years to make sure he has the best life he can possibly have growing up.”

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The death of Sebastian understandably took a terrible toll on his father, Chris Eubank Sr.

The  theatrical but granite-hard two-weight world champion was suddenly weak and vulnerable and preyed upon — saying things that caused a rift with his eldest son.

The flare-up was exacerbated by Eubank Sr’s disgust at his son stripping  down to 157lb to face Benn, who failed a drugs test before their October 2022 grudge bout was called off.

Sadly, especially for little Raheem, who is now three, the gladiatorial gene pool is not fully reunited yet.

Dubai-based Eubank Jr said: “We should be able to help Raheem without boxing involved.

“But  there is still a wedge between us. Until the day I retire, I don’t ever see that wedge not being there.

“It should not be that way but he is set in his ways and he can’t seem to separate the boxing business from being a dad.

“I don’t need Chris Eubank Sr the boxer, businessman, coach, mentor, advisor.

“He is in a better place now. He was dealing with some demons — and he still is.

“But he has got over and through a lot of things and he is in a much healthier state of mind, thank God.

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“I am very happy about that. I speak to him whenever I can, I keep up to date with how everything is going. I am hearing good things now, when a year or two ago I was not.

“I am very grateful that we have managed to get through that part of our lives.”

Eubank Jr makes his heart-breaking overnight transformation from super-cool uncle to doting dad sound like a doddle. But it means he is now in a rush to give Raheem the little sibling he himself adored in Sebastian.

And then he has to wrestle with the idea of both of his boys following down the brutally hard path that his dad, brother, cousins and uncles have all walked.

He explained: “Once I was put in this position for Raheem,  people saw a different side to me, a softer side.

“Spending time with Raheem makes me think more about having my own son, giving him a brother and raising them together.

“His dad was my brother and we grew up together and I want to give Raheem that.

“My new role means I have to teach Raheem — I cannot be Mr Nice Guy all the time.

“He has got to learn that certain things are not good or OK. In a sports setting, tough love and strict rules breed success.

My old man would say…‘What are you doing? Get back in the f*****g ring and work and learn and take your licks like a man’.

Chris Eubank Junior

“Nine times out of ten, if you don’t have the tears, punishment and discipline, then a kid is  not going to flourish in sport, especially boxing.

“My old man would watch me get hurt, he would watch me get beaten up and tell me, ‘Get back in the ring’.

“There were no hugs, there was no, ‘How are you son, are you feeling OK?’

“He would say, ‘What are you doing? Get back in the f*****g ring and work and learn and take your licks like a man’.

“That would break a lot of people, let alone kids, but it pushed me.
“Not everybody has it but you need it to survive in combat.

“I have a very soft spot for Raheem because of our situation, so I don’t think I would want to go through it with him.

“Would I love to see him  pursue a boxing career? No, I don’t think I would love it.

“I know his mother will not want him to do it — but his father did it, I do it and our father did it, so he has the genes, he’s part of our gene pool.”

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It is thought Watson played a role in the recruitment of Duff, who was sacked in December following a run of just five wins in 19 league games.

Alan Sheehan took over as caretaker prior to the permanent appointment of current head coach Luke Williams in January.

Watson was among those criticised for the club’s transfer activity during the 2023 summer transfer window – with few of Swansea’s signings impressing and many deemed not suited to the club’s preferred style of play.

The transfer business occurred despite Watson later claiming the recruitment structure at the club was not up to the required standard upon his arrival in south Wales.

Speaking of his maiden transfer window at Swansea at a fans forum in March, Watson said: “There were no scouts (at the club), no processes, no nothing.

“There wasn’t a single person in the building, so the recruitment over the past few years, prior to us coming in, was almost on a whim. That couldn’t last.”

The sporting director angered some Swansea supporters after being pictured with former Luton boss Nathan Jones – a known Cardiff City fan – during the club’s 5-0 FA Cup fourth round defeat by Bournemouth in January.

“I worked with Nathan for five years,” Watson said of the incident.

“When I went to an away game, they put our seats together because they knew we’d worked together. On reflection, I apologise. It won’t happen again. I certainly didn’t mean to offend the fans.”

There have been further concerns regarding the club’s transfer strategy given that Williams’ squad has been left short in areas following the exits of 13 players, and a further four fringe first-team players, over the summer, with only eight coming in, two of which were goalkeepers.

A RACING venue visited by Queen Elizabeth II has closed its doors to the public for a final time.

The Kranji racecourse was home to the historic Singapore Turf Club.

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Her Majesty, who was a huge racing fan, twice visited the historic club.

She first went there in 1972, before visiting again in 2006 alongside husband Prince Philip, following the club’s move to Kranji.

The Singapore Turf Club was formed in 1842, and previously attracted huge crowds.

It moved to Kranji in 2000, with its first race there bringing in 30,000 punters.

Those numbers haven’t been seen at the track for several years, however, and even its final meet on Saturday attracted a comparatively meagre 10,000 spectators.

Due to small attendances, the club struggled to attract sponsors in its final years.

In 2023 it was announced that the 127-hectare site would be turned into affordable housing.

The project is planned to be completed by 2027.

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Around 700 racing horses previously resided in Singapore, although that number is now believed to have fallen to 240 – with many having moved to nearby Malaysia.

Horse owner Eric Koh was in a sombre mood ahead of Saturday’s final meet at Kranji.

He told Channel News Asia: “There’ll be guests who will be very excited and will be out there for a fun day out.

“But to a lot of us the trainers, the owners, the jockeys, it’ll be quite a solemn and sad day.

“It’s like attending a funeral, really. The reality has set in.

“We have all accepted that there’s no U-turn and so we just have to move on.”

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LAS VEGAS – Amanda Nunes’ crypticness has been firing on all cylinders recently, but Dana White thinks it’s easy to decode.

During and after Saturday’s UFC 307, a card that featured two important women’s bantamweight title fights, Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) said both a little and a lot. First, it was some emojis on X. Then, a video of herself dancing with White’s handle tagged.

“She looks good,” White laughed at a Dana White’s Contender Series 75 post-fight news conference at the UFC Apex. “She looks great. It looks like she’s still in shape. You know where her head is at and I love that about her. There are a lot of things I love about her – and I love that about her. She’s keeping an eye on who wins the title next and I think she’s teasing that she might be interested in coming back.”

Nunes, 36, retired in June 2023 after a title win over Irene Aldana. She cited the desire to spend more time with her wife, former UFC fighter Nina Nunes, and their young daughter.

Since Nunes’ departure, there have been two title fights. The first was for the vacant strap at UFC 297 in January, during which Raquel Pennington claimed gold through a decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva.

Then, at Saturday’s UFC 307, Pennington lost the belt in a highly controversial split decision to Julianna Peña, a fighter who is 1-1 lifetime vs. Nunes.

Olympic gold medalist and former PFL champion Kayla Harrison also won a unanimous decision Saturday vs. Ketlen Vieira, establishing herself as potentially the next challenger for Peña.

Monday Night Club’s Chris Sutton talks about Liverpool’s impressive start to the season and whether the squad has enough depth to make the Reds “serious” Premier League title contenders.

WATCH the full episode of Monday Night Club here

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