British professional boxer Chris Eubank Jr will be in action against German star Artur Abraham at the SSE Arena Wembley in London on July 15.

This will be the first time the Brit defends his IBO super-middleweight title since winning it with a victory over Renold Quinlan in February earlier this year.

Eubank Jr is regarded as one of the best of the middleweight division as he prepares for his upcoming bout under the watchful guidance of his father Chris Eubank, a former champion himself.

Ahead of the highly anticipated fight next month, Eubank Jr has been reminiscing about the times he sparred with the best boxers around during the early days of his pro career.

James DeGale and George Groves, now considered two of boxing's elite names, gave a tough time to the then youngster, however, Eubank claims such experiences helped him become the fighter he is today.

The 27-year-old told Boxing News: "I only sparred DeGale once, I had my way with him pretty much all the time all eight rounds. Groves, it was always very competitive."

In his opinion, the middleweight champion was able to outshine his counterparts on most occasions, while stating even DeGale and Groves would agree to it.

“But a lot of the time I would come out on top, in my opinion. I’m sure he would probably say the same thing. That’s how I see it.”

But, sparring with Carl Froch - one of the biggest names in the division who defeated George Groves twice in succession before opting to call time on his career - was the finest encounter during that period of time.

Froch finished his professional career with an impressive record of 33 wins and just two losses but even with an injured hand, Eubank Jr felt he was more than competitive.

He added: “You saw the sparring with Froch. Very strong. There’s moments when he’s easy to hit but that’s always been his style. He’s not a defensive fighter. He’s a power puncher and a war-monger. "

"I learned a lot from sparring these guys. It was a great experience for me early on in my career.

"I learned that I was a world class fighter. I already knew. That was kind of like a reassurance I can go in there and spar one of the best fighters at the time and more than hold my own. I was sparring him at one point with one hand."

"I hurt my left hand so I couldn’t use my left hand. I went in there anyway and did six rounds. I did that twice with just my right hand. I held my own. I caught him with shots, worked on defence.

"He [Froch] was surprised that I actually decided to continue with one hand. I was hungry to learn and hungry to compete and hungry to get better."

Froch, himself, has beaten Eubank's next opponent, Abraham, seven years ago so the 39-year-old could well be someone to turn to should he need any turn to.

Although judging on Eubank Jr's current confidence, that might be unlikely.