Chris Eubank Jnr could fight George Groves at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge after explosive win over Avni Yildirim

• e-mail

Chris Eubank’s explosive coming of age on a night of brutality inside and outside the ring in Germany has raised the possibility of a British super-fight with George Groves at Chelsea’s football ground.

Eubank Jnr’s three-round destruction of the most dangerous floater in the new World Series tournament has catapulted him towards stadium stardom.

Now it remains for Groves to win his quarter-final by beating another Englishman, Jamie Cox, this coming Saturday at Wembley Arena. 

Chris Eubank Jnr was superb as he stopped Avni Yildirim in round three on Saturday night

The 28-year-old's expert display in Stuttgart has put him in line for another significant clash 

That venue has again been put on hold, for January 20, for Eubank to face the winner.

But if Groves prevails then that semi-final could be switched to Stamford Bridge despite the risk of mid-winter cold and rain.

Following Eubank’s achievement in not only knocking out Avni Yildirim but subduing his thousands of Turkish followers who fought a bloody battle in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle, promoter Kalle Sauerland revealed: ‘We have had exploratory discussions regarding Chelsea and other football clubs in London.

‘Chris has made a huge statement here. If George does the same next weekend we are looking at a massive fight which could easily fill a stadium.

‘There have been outdoor fights in winter before so the January date would not prevent it.

‘Remember the torrential rain and low temperature when Wladimir Klitschko beat David Haye in Hamburg. The crowd bring their own warmth to a stadium and conditions like that would not stop them turning out for a fight as big as this.  

Groves nurses a long-held ambition to box at Chelsea, his local club. The Eubanks, father and son, might prefer an alternative but Sauerland says: ‘In the contracts we have the absolute right to choose all the venues for the tournament. Anyway, given the modern travel links it is hardly any distance from their home town of Brighton to London.’

By extraordinary irony Stamford Bridge is free on January 20 – because Chelsea are away to Brighton that afternoon. The fans of both teams could make it a double by taking in both that Premier League match and then the fight which would also be for the WBA world super-middleweight title held by Groves.

Eubank says: ‘I’ve done my part. Now it’s up to George to do his and set us up for the kind of super-fight which is why I am in this game.' 

Eubank will face the winner of George Groves v Jamie Cox, who fight at Wembley Arena 

If Groves beats Cox, he could fight Eubank Jnr at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge on January 20

The bookmakers are currently revisiting the odds which have cast Eubank as the underdog should he meet Groves. His dazzling victory over the previously undefeated Yildirim in an extremely hostile environment led his legendary father, Chris Snr, to say: ‘Junior has just shown us the essence of why I believe he is becoming a truly great fighter.’

His son, holder of the lesser rated IBO world title, says: ‘The chance of fighting George was one of the reasons I entered this tournament. He and I have history. We have a rivalry even though we haven’t given the fans the fight they want to see.

‘It doesn’t bother me if he would be the favourite. We have sparred a lot of rounds and I can say that I would be very comfortable fighting him.’

Eubank also explained how his only professional defeat prepared him for the intimidating atmosphere generated by the immigrant community in Stuttgart. Of his loss to Billy Joe Saunders, he said: ‘After boxing him with 15,000 gypsies roaring him on, nothing that happened here could top that.’

So relaxed was he, despite an ugly fracas at a media conference last week, that when his father asked if he wanted to walk to the ring wrapped in the Union flag he said yes without hesitation.

Chris Snr said: ‘It was his choice to wear the Union Jack, even though some patriotic Turkish people might have seen it as provocative. I’m proud he did so.’

Eubank made his entrance as seating at ringside was still being put back in place following a mass brawl between Yildirim’s countrymen and a rival mob of Albanians.

Blood flowed from head wounds and facial cuts. Hands were broken and ribs cracked by savage kicks. Metal chairs were hurled, one glancing off the shoulders of myself and a colleague at ringside. 

Kalle Sauerland said: 'We are looking at a massive fight which could easily fill a stadium'

Groves' last fight was at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane, where he beat Fedor Chudinov

A threat of the violence erupting again during the fight, with the intention of intimidating Eubank, evaporated as soon as the first bell rang.

Eubank went urgently to work at once on a challenger with a reputation as an iron man. One brisk combination midway through the first round forced Yildirim down onto one knee and he received a mandatory eight count.

The crowd fell silent in apprehension. A series of uppercuts weakened the Turk in the second and Eubank finished him in the third with a dazzling combination climaxed by a thunderous left hook.

Instead of counting to 10, the Polish referee immediately summoned medical help for the stricken Yildirim, who could not be revived for several worrying minutes.

So Eubank lacks punching power at super-middleweight? Ask the man he nigh-on decapitated. Said Yildirim, when he came round: ‘He is very fast and that speed magnifies the strength of his punching.’

The on-looking thugs, some believed to be members of the most notorious of Stuttgart’s immigrant crime gang, slunk quietly into the night.

The stage had been half-set here for an even more momentous New Year event in London.