Chris Eubank Junior says he hopes to win an army of new fans tonight when he fights for the British middleweight title on terrestrial television.

The Brighton middleweight’s last fight was pay per view on Sky when he beat Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan.

Tonight his headline clash at the SSE Arena, Wembley, with champion Nick Blackwell will be shown live on Channel 5 from 9pm on the Hennessy Sports promotion.

And Eubank is hoping to catch the eye of the casual sports fan.

He told The Argus: “Everyone who has a TV in Britain has Channel 5, so this will be seen by millions. Little kids, old ladies and every type of person will be able to watch this, not just the hardcore boxing fan and the one who is willing to pay.

“Hundreds and thousands of people on the night, who don’t even know this fight is going to happen, will flick through and think ‘what’s this?’ and ‘who’s Chris Eubank Jr’? and then I’ve got another fan. That can’t happen on other platforms.”

Arch rival and WBO world champion Billy Joe Saunders will be at ringside – rooting for Blackwell.

Saunders said this week he hopes Blackwell knocks Eubank Jr out.

Although there seems to be a mutual respect among many fighters, it does not extend to Eubank Jr with O’Sullivan, George Groves and James DeGale having all been critical of him in the past.

But asked if his unpopularity with other fighters bothers him, Eubank Jr said: “I don’t need friends. I have one friend. I have a girlfriend and her name is boxing.

“They can have their groups and cliques but all I need is a left and a right boxing glove. They’re my friends.”