“I gave up on my dreams of being a hero a long time ago,” Chris Eubank Jr. remarked without hesitation at a February press conference in Manchester, England.
Sat bolt upright with a trademark poker face, the 35-year-old took his time in answering questions from an array of journalists. His responses were calculated, predetermined and relied on muscle memory after years of repetition.
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His demeanor remained cold. Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) is a man who is remarkably comfortable in his own skin, and, until this point, has relished playing the heel in British boxing.
Saturday’s middleweight grudge match against domestic rival Conor Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) is expected to welcome 65,000 fans into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but for the first time in his career, Eubank may find himself — to steal another bit of pro-wrestling parlance — as a babyface.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for a boxer who has typically fought in front of arenas of fans who have paid to see him lose.
Over the years of being flanked by his eccentric father and former middleweight and super middleweight world champion Chris Eubank Sr., the Brighton-based fighter was tarred with the nepo-baby brush and booed in and out of arenas up and down the country.
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He leaned into his arrogance, fed off the animosity and slept comfortably at night knowing that he would receive as many headlines and paychecks for being hated as he would for being loved.
But ever since Conor Benn failed two drugs tests for the female fertility drug clomiphene in 2022, Eubank’s role in this grudge match has changed. With the lack of clarity as to how and why he failed these drug tests, Benn will now receive the majority of hostilities on Saturday night.
It’s something that Eubank has used to his advantage in the buildup to this fight. Team Benn has been let off lightly by the boxing media, who have struggled to squeeze substantiated answers out of the 28-year-old.
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Instead, Eubank has led the charge in attempting to hold Benn to account for his actions. It has been refreshing and appreciated.
“Conor, I have been meaning to ask you, how many eggs did you have to eat to fail those drug tests?” Eubank posited to bemusement this week. “I’m sitting up here today on a 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 [promoter Eddie Hearn].”
The denials without explanations continued, and Benn cracked when questioned by a respected member of the boxing media.
“If somebody starts asking me trick questions, I’ll throw you out the room, do you hear me? I’ll drag you by the neck outside,” Benn said in riposte to questions around said failed drugs tests.
There has been no love lost between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn ahead of Saturday night. (Mark Robinson/Getty Images).
(Mark Robinson via Getty Images)
Since parting ways with his father professionally, Eubank’s voice has been heard more without interruption — and his authenticity has began to shine.
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This week, Eubank revealed that he compensated undercard fighters who were scheduled to box on his originally scheduled clash with Benn in 2022, much to the surprise to those who stated that this original promise was a “publicity stunt.”
We’ve also been given access to the human being behind the fighter. He has shown charming vulnerability in admitting that he is upset his father won’t be in his corner on fight night and he’s received sympathy following video footage of Eubank Sr. calling him a “disgrace” for striking Benn with an egg.
Eubank may not be comfortable in this newfound role, but it’s one that he is deserving of. “There’s two bad guys in this fight,” he has said on multiple occasions, but in a sport where the truth is so important, it’s Eubank who has shown the most integrity throughout.
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
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Flip that famous quote from Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film “The Dark Knight” on its head and you can begin to understand the career trajectory of Chris Eubank Jr.
This grudge match started out 30 months ago as a trilogy between the Eubank and Benn families, but since 2022, both sons have become their own men — for better and for worse.
For 37 fights, spanning 13 years, the 35-year-old has been the villain or heel of British boxing — but on Saturday night, thanks to his opponent, Eubank may well find himself loved for the very first time in a boxing ring.
Will he care? I’d like to think so.
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