Chris Eubank Sr has accused the organisers of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn of ‘attempting to murder his son’ by making him cut down to a career-lowest weight.
Eubank Jr and Benn were due to square off on October 8, however, Benn returned adverse analytical findings for trace amounts of the banned substance clomifene in a drugs test carried out by VADA leading to the BBBofC calling off the contest.
Clomifene is primarily used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate but can double as a performance enhancer as it can also increase testosterone in men when taken as a daily pill. Prior to the test results, Eubank Sr had told fans to boycott the fight over fears for his son’s health.
He refused to give the bout his blessing as he believed the 157lb limit was too big of a cut for Eubank Jr to make healthily with Next Gen boxing no lower than 160lb during his professional career. Now, Speaking with Spencer Fearon on his YouTube channel Stamina For Sale, Eubank Sr gave a harrowing response to the ordeal.
“I made it very clear three months ago that this fight isn’t going to happen because he is my son and I’ve got to protect him,” he said. “These people are attempting to murder the boy. And it’s clear to me but not to anybody else; if you’re a fighter, if you’ve lived the life of a fighter and you know what it is to lose weight, my son’s been protected, and I brought him up good in boxing.
“But he doesn’t want to listen, he wants to be the boss so I said ‘go ahead, I don’t think you should have the fight, I think you’d get the same money for fighting Liam Smith, then you have Billy Joe Saunders, then you have Canelo and that’s your career.
“These guys you can beat because you are a magnificent fighter. But unfortunately, Junior doesn’t understand and doesn’t believe in me. I believe in him but he doesn’t believe in me and sadly, it’s come to the point where, when you no longer care, it means I’d let go. He manages himself and looks after himself and I say ‘fine’, I’ve done nothing but give this young man a career, a name, a face.”
“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’,” Eubank Sr added. “That boy’s clean, a clean man and a great fighter, but you have toddlers looking after us fighters, toddlers.
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“These guys that they call managers and promoters, these guys – I’m coming for you. You tried to murder my boys, I’m coming for you, yeah. Sorry, I got a little carried away – I know what weight, I know what three pounds down from 160 when you’re 33 years old to get down beneath the middleweight limit, it’s madness, but he won’t listen.
“And I can’t afford for him to ‘feel’. I’ve already lost one son and it’s not happening again; it didn’t happen. I had very little to do with it. I will move out.”
Express Sport has approached both Wasserman and Matchroom Boxing for comment.
After Eubank Sr’s initial comments earlier this month, Eddie Hearn told iFL TV: “I think he’s very stubborn. He made some comments a couple of weeks ago about the weight. Don’t forget, Eubank Sr knew about this fight.
“He knew about the weight, and Chris Jr signed for the fight. There wasn’t any major concerns then. At the same time, he has concerns about the weight, and Junior is out there dining out with KFC, cookies, cakes, etc. The people who are the ground that are involved with the camp. Ronnie Davis, the British Boxing Board of control, they’ll be weighing him are all happy with the numbers. So, I don’t really see the concern.”
Benn, meanwhile, has denied any wrongdoing in a statement, which read: “I am truly gutted that we were unable to make this fight happen on Saturday and I’m sorry to everyone who has been affected by the postponement. I am still completely shocked and surprised by this and it has been a tough couple of days, My team and I will consider the next options including rescheduling the fight, but my immediate focus is on clearing my name because I am a clean athlete!”
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