Life has certainly changed for Chris Eubank Jr over the past year. The professional boxer, who has held multiple middleweight titles, winning 35 of his 39 fights, is enjoying an exciting new era outside the ring – he has become a father to twin sons and has also landed a role in Guy Ritchie's hit Netflix crime drama The Gentlemen.
"It's an amazing time in my life," says the East Sussex-born star, who has the gentle voice of his famous father, Chris Eubank Sr, but not the former two-division world champion’s eccentric theatrics. "I'm probably the happiest I've ever been."
Chris, 36, makes his acting debut in season two of The Gentlemen, which stars Theo James as an army officer who unexpectedly inherits his family's 500-year-old estate, only to learn that it is part of a multi-million-pound cannabis empire.
The show was recently in the news when it was reported that the Duchess of Sussex had been in talks about a role.
"I think I was built for this," Chris says. He plays a boxer known as Organ John, an enforcer who can kill with a single punch – a role that popped up serendipitously after he was invited to visit the set in April last year.
© Netflix"I said to [Guy]: 'Listen, if there's any way you can get me in… I'll be a background guy – just let me do something.' I wasn't even expecting it to be in The Gentlemen."
"It was a small role and I didn't have a crazy number of lines, but I've been in front of cameras my whole life," says Chris, who says he was "on top of the world" when he visited the set, having just defeated Conor Benn in a gruelling 12-round fight. The match also marked the end of four years of estrangement from his father, who turned up at the 11th hour to support his son.
"I had stitches above my eye and I was still bashed up. I think that gave me a lot of character," Chris says. "I said to [Guy]: 'Listen, if there's any way you can get me in… I'll be a background guy – just let me do something.' I wasn't even expecting it to be in The Gentlemen."
Having taken his "foot off the pedal" when it comes to boxing – fighting just once or twice a year, compared with eight times during his debut year, which began in November 2011 – Chris, who has been living in Dubai for the past three years, is eager to explore acting further, and is contemplating taking lessons. He insists, however, that he won’t be hanging up his gloves any time soon.
© Chris Eubank Jr Instagram"I'm going to box until I can't box again, until I can't physically perform the way I want to," he says. "Outside that, I'm going to pursue other passions. I want to see how far I can go."
Chris changed his perspective on his profession following the birth of his twin sons, Axl and Kade, in February, and he describes their arrival as "the best thing to happen to me in a long time".
"I was so obsessed with my career; I just couldn't imagine having such a huge responsibility," he says. "A couple of years ago, I woke up and was like: 'I think it's time.' For the past few years, I've been actively trying and it finally happened for me."
"I'm very blessed to be a dad."
Chris parents his sons with his partner, whom he intentionally keeps out of the public eye. "I'm very proud of the relationship I have [with my partner]. So much of my life is public, so I always knew I wanted something for myself," he says.
It's a lesson learnt from his own childhood, after his parents, Chris Eubank Sr and Karron Stephen-Martin, divorced in 2005. "I had to go to school and hear people talking about that,” he says.
© Getty ImagesHaving children has made him more cautious. "Boxing is a serious game and things can happen," he says. "Now, it has to be worth it for me to fight, because it's not just me any more – I have a family now."
The fragility of life is something of which Chris is all too aware, following the death of his brother Sebastian, who passed away in 2021, aged 29, after suffering a heart attack while swimming in the sea in Dubai.
"He's always in my mind," Chris says of his late brother, who died just a month after welcoming a son of his own, Raheem, with his wife, Salma Abdelati.
© PA Images via Getty Images"Having Raheem around has made it a lot easier for me to deal with, because it's like he's been reincarnated into this little boy who looks just like him. It's like he's gone but he isn't, and that's a beautiful thing.
"Raheem is what lit the fuse for me wanting to become a dad," says Chris, who refers to his nephew, now five, as “the big brother" to his twin sons. "He loves the new responsibility he has. That was always a dream of mine, to give Raheem a brotherly relationship like I had with his father."
"I'm going to box until I can't box again, until I can't physically perform the way I want to."
When it comes to the prospect of his children following in the family's sporting footsteps, Chris is hesitant. "My father steered me away from boxing for many years and it didn't work," he says.
"I will teach them how to defend themselves, I'll show them how to get fit and strong, but to be completely honest, I will probably be trying to direct them into other areas of life.
"You know the saying 'lightning doesn't strike twice'? Well, by some miracle, it happened to strike twice with me and my father, and we were both able to achieve great things in the sport. So what are the chances that it's going to strike three times? I couldn't even imagine it."
© Getty ImagesThe boxer says he looked to his father for inspiration when he was growing up. "I always wanted to follow in his footsteps – his style, the love he had from the people, the achievements he had in his career," he says. "That was what I always strived to be and try to emulate."
However, there are some things that Chris doesn't wish to repeat. "He went bankrupt. All the money that he made in his career, he didn't leave any of it to his children – he lost it all," says the fighter, who has invested his money in property and the beauty industry so that his children "don't go through the things I had to go through as a teenager".
Chris is hoping to get back into the ring later this year. "Nothing is official. I'm staying fit, ready and waiting for the call," he says. But for now, he's taking a moment to appreciate his success.
"Sometimes I just sit there and think: 'Wow, look at the life I have now,’" he says. "I always knew I was going to do well for myself because I was hellbent on my goals as an athlete, but you can't imagine going as far as I've gone.
"I'm 36 years old and it's a blessing to be able to say that."
Season two of The Gentlemen premieres 3 September on Netflix.
