Chris Eubank Jr ignores Conor Benn’s trainer and poses for selfies during speech

Chris Eubank Jr took selfies at the launch press conference for his October 8 clash with Conor Benn as he ignored his rival’s trainer Tony Sims, who was in the middle of speaking.

Speaking during Friday’s presser, Sims said: “Well I think this fight is always aligned to happen even from the first day that Conor Benn put gloves on. It’s always been spoken about, like Conor said it’s a fight for the British public, it’s probably the biggest fight of this decade, or if this generation and obviously I wanted to see the fight happen and I believe in Conor Benn.

“He’s so diligent in his training and the knowledge of his boxing game and I believe that the weight, 157, is what Chris Eubank’s team asked for, we agreed to that so I believe Conor will be strong at that weight, he spars all the world level middleweights and super-middleweights in my gym day in day out. When he fights these days I don’t put him in there with welterweight sparring, I always go in with middleweight sparring because the welterweights they just don’t hold up to him.

“I know what he’s made of and I know what he can bring to the table and that was a big factor in taking this fight and Conor really wanted the fight, I spoke to Nigel on the phone about it. Nigel said the fight is ready to happen and if it presents itself then it’s there and we’re now and October 8 is not far away.” 

But Eubank Jr didn’t seem particularly interested in what Sims had to say as he posed for selfies with coach Ronnie Davies. When Eubank Jr got his chance to speak he took it in full as he gave some advice to Conor Benn regarding sparring partners. 

He said: “I’m going to take you to school, I’m going to walk you through the doors, I’m going to sit you down in class and I’m going to teach you every lesson you need to learn. That’s how I see the fight playing out and if you want to ask me if I have any advice for him, my advice to Conor is get sparring partners who are going to really hurt you for the next eight weeks.

“That’s the best shot you have because on October 8 the pain you’re going to experience if you don’t get your arse kicked in the gym then it’s just going to be too much of a shock to your system when I put it on you on the night. So, get some tough guys in your training camp for this fight, please. That way we can make it more of a competitive event on October 8.”

Eubank also insisted that he is the firm favourite despite admitting he won’t be fighting at 100 per cent because he’s having to get down a weight he hasn’t weighed since he was 18. He added: “I won’t be 100 per cent, if I was it would be a public execution. I’ll be 60 per cent and that’s enough to do what I want with you.”

The sons of two of British boxing’s most iconic fighters and bitter rivals, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr, square off at the O2 Arena, London at a 157lb catchweight limit. If either man misses weight at the Friday weigh-in, then they will be forced to pay a colossal fine.

According to boxing writer Dan Rafael, there will be a penalty of £81,000 ($100,000) for every pound that they come in over by. There were also initial reports that Benn’s team were keen to insert a rehydration clause and that Chris Eubank Jr is expected to step on the scales again on the morning of the fight (Saturday) which was confirmed to be true by Benn on Thursday morning.

Benn vs Eubank Jr will be shown live on DAZN PPV. A price has not been announced as of yet although it is expected to be a similar fee to that of Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin III (taking place on September 17) which is currently listed at £9.99 for existing subscribers and £17.98 for new ones.