Chris Eubank Sr. says he intends to pursue some form of retribution against the organizers behind the now scuttled 157-pound catchweight between his son and Conor Benn.
Eubank Jr., the longtime middleweight contender, and Benn, a welterweight, were scheduled to meet last Saturday at the O2 Arena in what was billed as a monumental generational grudge match. But a few days out from the event, it was revealed by the Daily Mail that Benn had tested positive for a banned substance, clomifene, a fertility drug. Soon after, the British Boxing Board of Control issued a statement refusing to sanction the bout. Promoters Eddie Hearn (Benn) and Kalle Sauerland (Eubank) appeared intent on moving forward with the show but, in the end, they decided to “postpone” the fight.
Eubank Sr. had already made headlines for himself in recent weeks because he came out forcibly against the bout, citing what he felt was a dangerous weight cut his son would have to endure and seemed to suggest he would take legal action against the organizers. Eubank Jr. was required to drop three pounds below the middleweight limit, something he has never had to do as a professional, and he was also subject to a stiff rehydration limit. Furthermore, Eubank Sr. refused to participate in any of the pre-fight publicity, unlike Benn’s father, Nigel Benn, who did. (Last year, Eubank Sr. lost a son, Sebastian, who died of a heart attack while on vacation in Dubai).
At the start of fight week, Eubank Sr. called for a “boycott” of Eubank-Benn.
Ironically, Eubank Sr.’s sentiments have seemingly aged well. In a recent interview, he offered a scathing review of last week’s fiasco and also indicated that he was “coming for” the “managers and promoters” who tried to greenlight the fight.
“…You have toddlers looking after [the] fighters,” Eubank said on The Fight is Right podcast with hosts Tunde Ajayi and Spencer Fearon. “Toddlers—these guys we call managers and promoters. These guys, I'm coming for you. Yeah, you tried to murder my boy. I'm coming for you. Yeah.”
Notably, Eubank Sr. did not have any animus toward Benn. Indeed, the British boxing icon was downright compassionate toward the embattled 26-year-old, describing him as a “clean man” and implying that Benn had been taken advantage of by certain members on his training team.
“When I look at a fighter, I look at the spirit in the man,” Eubank Sr. said. “Conor would have had no idea, in my view, of what they would suggest he should have (PEDs).
“I've seen them do it, I've watched them. These are men who are going to be rooted out of this game, because they're not fighters, they're PE [physical education] teachers. I respect them, but not when they're harming fighters, because – in my view – when I look at Conor Benn, that's a pure young man.”
“I told Nigel, 'don’t come to these speaking engagements (for Eubank Jr.-Benn),'” Eubank Sr. added. “There’s going to be too much pressure on him because you’ve let them lead your son into a pit, a snare. That boy’s clean. A clean man, and a great fighter.”
