Chris Eubank Sr pleaded with all involved to prolong the fight between his son and Conor Benn. Eubank Jr went ahead because according to him, the opponent was not on the same level as him regardless of weight.
When the fight between Chris Eubank Jr and Benn was first announced, it sparked a decades-old family rivalry. In fact, that’s what it’s sold on.
Many have come to believe the fact that both fathers will return to construction, provides some boxing nostalgia for a modern day scrap. No one really considered what would happen if one of them strongly opposed the ongoing war.
That is until eldest brother Eubank pulls out of his personal and professional heartbreak to try to stop the fight. He believes his son is putting himself in danger by agreeing to fight at the lowest level of his career.
In an exclusive interview with Gareth A Davies for The TelegraphChris Eubank Jr admitted that he would reconsider the risk for the 157 lbs class if his opponents were different.
“As fighters, we take chances, we gamble, and I don’t believe Conor will be able to take me into the deep. Maybe I’m wrong but I didn’t feel that was what he was going to be able to do, so I agreed to this weight.”
“If I were to go there with someone I consider to be a killer, I would never do anything like this, I just don’t see that pedigree or rank from Conor so I’m risking a cut. his weight. I’ve never had it before and I’m in danger of not being able to stay hydrated after the game.”
While remaining optimistic about beating Benn, Eubank Jr has admitted that weight loss is an unknown prospect.
“Is it a concern? I mean I guess, I’ve never had to do anything like this in my career so I don’t know how my body will react, I don’t know how I’ll feel in the morning. At night, I know I won’t reach 100%. “
If the weight isn’t on his shoulders, something else is – legacy.
“This is the biggest pressure I have ever had in a fight, there are so many different types of pressure on me, first and foremost the pressure about keeping my family title strong. What my father and Nigel Benn did is part of British sporting history. We had a win, a draw. I cannot do that. If I lost, I said I would retire.”
