Chris Eubank Jr. was forced to go through an airport-style security check before being allowed into the second press conference for his fight with Conor Benn.
At Tuesday’s launch press conference, Eubank Jr. reached into his pocket for an egg and then delivered a powerful left-handed slap across Benn’s cheek when the pair faced off for the first time ahead of their April 26 all-British grudge match at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Uncrowned revealed Wednesday that the British Boxing Board of Control will call Eubank Jr. before a hearing in the coming days to decide whether he will be punished and to what degree for Tuesday’s infraction. He is likely to be presented with a hefty fine.
Notably, there was an increased security presence at Thursday’s press conference. When the pair faced off, they were held back by a horde of security attempting to prevent a repeat of Tuesday’s antics.
Eubank started proceedings with a speech about his actions on Tuesday.
“Did I cross the line? During this whole process over the last two-and-a-half years, I think many lines have been crossed,” Eubank said. “I’m sitting up here today, on stage, with two of the scummiest characters in boxing, in my opinion: a drug cheat and a man who did everything in his power to help him get away with it.”
“So, me throwing an egg at somebody who absurdly claims that is the reason he failed two drug tests, contamination from eggs. I think that’s light, and I think that’s deserved. I think he deserved the embarrassment of what happened. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would. Unfortunately, I come unarmed today, I’ve been thoroughly searched multiple times, [and] I couldn’t sneak any [eggs] in.”
Similar to Tuesday’s conference, Eubank Jr. refused to let Benn’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, get a sentence in uninterrupted. Every time Hearn opened his mouth to talk, he was met by Eubank speaking over him and reminding the promoter that it wasn’t about him.
Eubank Jr.’s attack on Matchroom’s Hearn can be likened to David Haye’s 2017 war of words with Hearn before Haye’s major domestic heavyweight clash with Tony Bellew. Haye famously told Hearn that it wasn’t “The Eddie Hearn Show” in a rant aimed at the promoter at the press conference for Haye-Bellew 1.
“You fought for the IBO world title in a leisure centre,” Benn told Eubank. “That’s your greatest achievement. I’ve turned down [a shot at the IBO title], it ain’t a legitimate world title.
“He’s an idiot, that’s all there is to say to him. I can’t wait for him to get smashed to pieces on April 26.
“His own team don’t even like him, look at his team, they’re pretending… [Shalom] [Of] course he is [pretending], he ain’t even getting paid.”
Benn said at the first press conference that neither Eubank Jr.’s dad — the legendary British boxer Chris Eubank Sr. — nor his team actually liked Eubank Jr., and reiterated the point at today’s conference.
When Eubank Jr.’s promoter, Ben Shalom, attempted to correct Benn, he was met with a threat of being slapped by Benn. And it’s fair to say that Shalom certainly thought Benn would carry out that threat when the pair were on Tottenham Hotspur’s soccer pitch later in the afternoon.
Eubank Jr. and Benn faced off at a distance twice at the conclusion of Thursday’s press conference. Things got intense the second time they came head to head at pitch-side.
“[You’re pretending that] you’ve got reflexes,” Benn told Eubank. “Let me step back and pretend like I’m game. Let me step back and pretend like I’ve got my reflexes. You’re old, and you’re shot to bits. You’re old, you’re washed up, you’re done.”
The fighters’ fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, had two historic bouts in the 1990s that captivated the attention of the British public. In 1990, Eubank Sr. stopped Benn to win the WBO middleweight title in a fight still widely considered to be one of the best in British boxing history. Three years later, 16.5 million people in Britain watched the pair fight to a draw at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.
Their sons, Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn, were set to reignite the rivalry in 2022, but the much-anticipated bout was canceled at the last minute after Benn’s positive test for Clomifene was revealed on fight week. The WBC eventually cleared Benn from wrongdoing, blaming the adverse findings on an “elevated consumption of eggs,” hence why Eubank smashed an egg on Benn at Tuesday’s face-off.
Benn will be reapplying for a BBBofC license for his April 26 super-fight with Eubank Jr. The British boxer notoriously forfeited his license after being met with seven misconduct charges by the board following his failed drug tests.
Now that Benn has been cleared by the National Anti-Doping Panel, he has made amends with the BBBofC and will once again fight under their jurisdiction.
Read the full article here