Chris Eubank Jnr has always thought an awful lot of himself. 

Loving oneself might appear a common trait in the modern day, particularly when looking at the rampant egos being exhibited on social media. If mirrors could talk they would reveal even more about all who gaze into them, because almost everyone is guilty of admiring their own reflection a little too much on occasion. Whether a fresh haircut disguises the bald patch, a particular outfit flatters to deceive, or a new exercise regime is starting to bear fruit, succumbing to vanity is part and parcel of the human condition. So too, alas, is the insecurity that strikes when the wind blows that hair out of place, a different room with different lighting exposes the outfit to be just like all the rest and a visit to the gym puts the ‘new’ physique into stark perspective.

Eubank, however, appears blessed with a rare and everlasting sense of complete contentment that the rest of us will only fleetingly experience. It’s evidenced by the expression that’s always on his face; it fuels each swaggering footstep; it’s decorated by every item of clothing he chooses to wear; and it courses through the deliberate enunciation of all he says. That level of confidence, when so unashamedly showcased, is often described as arrogance.

Yet arrogance – the quality of being arrogant – infers an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or ability. Which, if applied to Eubank, means he’s not the attraction he claims to be nor the fearsome fighter he tells everyone that he is. The losses to Billy Joe Saunders, George Groves and Liam Smith, all of whom have labelled Eubank as arrogant, might suggest that’s true. 

Yet the 34 victories he has amassed during a 14-year career in which he’s consistently been one of Britain’s premier ticket sellers prove that Eubank’s confidence has generally been well-placed and only rarely wide of the mark. Eubank has not been masquerading as a badass, he is a badass, and arguably more so today than ever before.

To be as successful as he has been in boxing, to have secured payday after payday and opportunity after opportunity – particularly for someone who takes regular swipes at those who pay him to fight – takes far more than acting like the hardest kid on the playground. Simply because, every now and again, the hardest kid on the playground must prove they are so.

He followed the loss to Saunders with wins over Dmitry Chudinov, Spike O’Sullivan, Nick Blackwell, Arthur Abraham and Avni Yildirim. After the reverse to Groves came victories over James DeGale, Matvey Korobov and Liam Williams. He avenged the stoppage defeat to Smith in an immediate rematch before thrashing Kamil Szeremeta last year.

Through it all he’s made enemies out of nearly all the promoters he’s worked with – bar whichever one is contracted to pay him for his next outing – while never once fearing legal reprimands for telling them exactly what he thinks of them and their methods.

To witness him in the gym when a young man was quite the sight. Perennially late, he would strut inside and barely make eye contact, much less say sorry, to those he had kept waiting – even if one of them happened to be his own father – and then burst into a breakneck routine of his own making while continuing to ignore the band of cheerleaders who would whoop and holler at his every move. Should a photographer have been waiting he would remove his t-shirt and perform a variety of exercises designed to enliven his muscles before posing for a snap. If sparring partners couldn’t keep up or were below his level, no matter; Eubank would simply tear through them without care nor remorse. If one got the better of him, he would brush it off as a fluke, offer no congratulations, and grant them no further thought. Neither scenario was particularly admirable, it must be said, but always proved he had the mindset required to succeed in his line of work. 

He accepted those losses to Saunders, Groves and Smith without once bowing to humility. Irrespective of what one thought of his fighting prowess, his mental fortitude could not be questioned because, unlike others who dined out on unbeaten records to then choke once served defeat, Eubank chose to focus only on what came next. His ability to dwell in the moment while plotting the future, and not allow anything from the past to haunt or tease, is both unique and enviable. But such a state is surely impossible to retain forever – even if you are Chris Eubank Jnr.  

What comes next for the cocksure 35-year-old is a battle with Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, who Chris Eubank Snr beat to a pulp in a savage 1990 war and then fought to a draw in their rematch three years later. It was a rivalry built on simmering hatred, albeit a grudge that largely came from Benn rather than the other way around. Senior, like his son today, didn’t have the capacity to really hate anyone – such was the extent of the unrelenting admiration for himself.

Junior has long promised to beat Conor, a natural welterweight to whom he has always felt superior. He has teased him about failing drug tests, he has smashed an egg into his face, he constantly belittles him on social media, and he’s so confident he’s telling the entire world he would happily make a bet with Benn’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, for the sum of £1m. Furthermore, though relations with his father are not what they once were, he relishes the prospect of being the latest Eubank to beat a Benn, thus proving he too is worthy of the widespread admiration his father has long enjoyed.

Losing, therefore, is an unthinkable scenario in the mind of Junior. Yet that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t occur. Should it, Eubank will experience shame like never before. A convincing defeat will feel far worse than losing to Saunders, Groves or Smith, three fighters who came with more knowledge and greater education. 

At 35, his sense of tomorrow and all its possibilities will irrevocably alter with defeat. A loss to Benn – the smaller, weaker man; the younger, less experienced man; the man he perceives to be a vacuous drug cheat; the man he cannot respect; the man who is the offspring of his father’s greatest enemy – would be so humiliating to Chris Eubank Jnr that even his own beloved reflection, for so long his closest ally, might suddenly become too much to bear.