Chris Eubank has doubled down on his criticism of organisers of his son’s now-cancelled bout with Conor Benn.
Eubank Sr, 56, had been fiercely against the 157lbs catchweight contest, which was called off last Thursday (5 October) – three days before it was set to take place – after Benn returned a test result with traces of a fertility drug.
The main-event fight at London’s O2 Arena would have seen Eubank Jr, 33, cut three more pounds than usual, while 26-year-old Benn was set to move up two weight classes.
“They were asking me to take money to come onto [streaming service] DAZN and be a part of it,” Eubank Sr told Talksport on Thursday (13 October).
“They asked me to be in my son’s corner, they were trying to pay me to be in my son’s corner.”
Despite last week’s revelation of Benn’s adverse drug test result, the fighters and promoters tried to proceed with the fight, which Eubank Sr labelled an “outrage”.
Benn has maintained his innocence since the adverse finding was revealed, while Eubank Sr defended the 26-year-old, calling him a “pure” man.
When asked whether he was relieved that the contest had fallen through, the former world champion said: “It’s an insult to say to me, ‘Oh, you were relieved.’ Relieved? Relieved? Look, he’s my son. I’ve loved him all his life, 33 years.
“I’ve done everything I can to actually bolster him into a position of strength to where no one would cheat him and misuse him.”
Eubank Jr vs Benn was scheduled to take place almost exactly 29 years to the day after the pair’s fathers fought for the second and final time.
Eubank Sr stopped Nigel Benn in the rivals’ first clash, in 1990, before they fought to a draw in 1993.
One of Eubank Sr’s two other sons, Sebastian Eubank, died at the age of 29 last July after suffering a heart attack on a Dubai beach.
