Chris Eubank Sr has made a stern defence of Conor Benn after he tested positive for a banned substance and had his fight with Chris Eubank Jr called off last week.
The legendary former two-weight world champion was never keen on seeing his son square off with Benn, whose father Nigel was his greatest rival during his career. The pair compete two weight classes apart, with Eubank Jr coming down to a career-low weight while Benn was moving up from welterweight to a 157lb catchweight.
And long before his son's opponent tested positive for a banned substance, Eubank Sr had washed his hands of the event, declaring it was unsafe simply for his son to make the weight. The bout was pulled when Benn's VADA test found traces of clomifene, a drug usually prescribed to treat infertility in women but can also boost testosterone production in men.
But Eubank Jr doesn't believe Benn was intentionally cheating, telling Spencer Fearon on his YouTube channel Stamina For Sale : "When I look at a fighter I look at the spirit in the man, Conor would have had no idea in my view of what they would suggest he would have.
"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 teachers, I respect them but not when they're harming fighters. In my view, when I look at Conor Benn, that's a pure young man."
Eubank Sr, whose relationship with his son has been strained by their disagreement over the fight and its terms, even wanted to work with Benn before the families were pitted against each other again. The Eubank and Benn rivalry is one of British sport's greatest, but he was keen to put it in the past and "team up" with his old enemy.
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"And I said to him before 'don't do this, you have a glittering career in front of you. You can beat the Americans, why don't we partner up our team against the American team?'" Eubank Sr continued. "I spoke to him like a dad should speak to a son, but nah, they're not like me.
"I told Nigel 'don't come to these speaking engagements; it's going to be too much pressure on you because you let them lead your son into a pit, a snare'. That boy's clean, a clean man and a great fighter, but you have toddlers looking after us fighters, toddlers."
Now, Benn must wait to find out his fate following the drugs test before he can work on rescheduling a fight with Eubank Jr. Should he be cleared of any wrongdoing, the fight could take place as soon as December, although it remains to be seen if Eubank Jr will have changed his terms after losing out on such a huge opportunity.
