Benn accuses Eubank Jr of ‘£1m blackmail’ as row turns ugly

Conor Benn and Chris Eubank have taken to social media to trade blows. Benn has accused Eubank Jr of blackmailing him for £1million after his rival slammed his recent TV interview with Piers Morgan. Benn failed two pre-fight drug tests ahead of the much-anticipated clash between the pair in October leading to the entire event being cancelled.

The 26-year-old returned adverse findings for the banned substance clomifene in both his A and B samples but claims he is innocent.

Benn was recently re-entered into the WBC’s welterweight rankings after the major sanctioning body concluded in an independent investigation that there was “no conclusive evidence” he intentionally or knowingly ingested the substance.

The WBC also came to the conclusion that the failed tests were down to Benn’s ‘highly-elevated consumption of eggs’ after combing through a 270-page document submitted to them by the Brit in his defence. However, the dossier was not sent to the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), which is currently undergoing its own separate inquiry alongside UK Anti-Doping, to determine whether Benn should be banned from boxing.

“There’s been too many. ‘Kill yourself’, racist comments to my son, to my family,” he added. “Nothing in person, it’s cowardly. I don’t think it’s social media that bothers me, it was more so the shame I felt leaving the house, although I’d done nothing wrong.

“I was having night terrors, panic attacks. I don’t throw these words [around]. Mental health, I was really struggling. I was in a really bad way and I was coping terribly with it. I was coping really bad with it.”

But Eubank Jr, having watched the Piers Morgan interview took to social media telling his 430,000 number of followers ‘100 per cent sure’ that Benn ‘is a cheat’. “I was 99% sure @ConorNigel was a cheat but after watching that interview with @piersmorgan now I’m 100% sure,” he tweeted. “Imagine failing TWO drugs tests & then trying to play the victim!? The balls on this kid!! Or should I say… the eggs on him.”

Eubank made sure Conor saw his post by @ tagging him. In response, Benn said to Eubak Jr: “You’re Sat there trying to play the victim but tried blackmailing me for 1m pound. You s***house.”

Express Sport has approached both Eubank Jr and Benn’s representatives for comment.