CHRIS EUBANK SR has again insisted that his son will NOT fight Conor Benn.
Earlier this month it was announced that the pair are set to do battle on April 26 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Chris Eubank has insisted that the controversial fight won’t happen[/caption]
Eubank Jr and Conor Benn are scheduled to fight on April 26[/caption]
The match-up had initially been set for October 2022, only to be KO’d just days out after Benn failed two Voluntary Anti-Doping Association tests.
With UK Anti-Doping having lifted Benn’s ban last November, he is eligible to compete on home soil again.
The match-up naturally evokes memories of the 1990s rivalry between their fathers Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn.
But the former refuses to throw his weight behind the nostalgic bout.
Speaking on his Call Chris Eubank YouTube channel, he said: “My answer is no, the fight will not happen. Not because of anything other than it breaks the rules.
“Rules is what we abide by. If we don’t abide by the rules then we are being reckless. We’re being reckless with what? With the lives of these fighters.
“Not just Conor Benn and Christopher Livingstone Eubank Jr, but with the lives of all participants of combat sports.
“Do not be distracted by re-hydration clauses.”
SUN BINGO GET £50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAY
Eubank Sr, 58, has long been unhappy with the catchweight bout.
Benn typically fights at welterweight, with a 147lbs limit.
Eubank Jr, meanwhile, is two divisions up at middleweight, for which the limit is 160lbs.
The fight is set to see Benn move up to middleweight, in contrast to the original 2022 bout which had been arranged for a 157lbs catchweight.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Eubank Sr said: “My son, if he had taken that fight where they tried to boil him down to 157, would have lost his life.”
The British boxing legend lost younger son Sebastian aged just 29 to a heart attack in 2023.
He continued: “I lost Sebastian. What do I say about losing another one? Nothing, I just pray.”
Eubank Sr then referenced American boxer Paul Bamba, who died aged 35 in December just six days after winning the WBA Gold Cruiserweight title by defeating Rogelio Medina, adding: “Paul said he gave himself brain damage by losing too much weight.
“He lost 22lbs in a matter of days. What the promoters are doing now is looking at the names and looking at the money.
“So, the names of the fathers Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, they are looking at the names that draw an audience to a stadium or an arena.
“This is trampling the rules. They are running amok.
“It has become a world of ‘money first’. Like with the YouTube fighters, it’s the money they think about.
“And for the boxers, when they are headstrong, they are not thinking about safety. I know what it is like to get in there and to have lost all that weight.
“I know what it feels like when you are getting a hammering. It is dangerous. I know what it is like in training, when you are dehydrated.”
Eubank twice fought Nigel Benn in the 1990s[/caption].
Source
