CHRIS Eubank Jr and Conor Benn faced off once again but this time the press conference passed without incident as the heat rises ahead of their April clash.
Understandably failing to match the drama of Tuesday’s opening meeting, where Eubank Jr splattered an egg across his rival’s cheek, causing a main stage ruckus, this one was more gossip than fisticuffs as Eubank Jr and Eddie Hearn carried over their own beef. Seething more and more as it developed, Conor Benn preferred to say little.
Walking to the stage, Eubank Jr was ceremoniously frisked for any more egg-based artillery. The fiasco made national news, creating even more interest for the battle of two of British boxing’s most famous sons.
They meet on April 26 in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with promoter Eddie Hearn, who Eubank Jr previously described as a “scumbag”, taking great delight in the fact that over one hundred thousand punters were lining up for pre-sale tickets.
Eddie’s joy was short-lived as Chris got stuck straight into him on stage. His rival, meanwhile, is bubbling with pent-up emotion.
“If I can get my hands on him, I will get my hands on him,” Benn ominously stated earlier in the afternoon. While security was not quite at Tyson vs. Lewis levels, it was significantly tighter in anticipation of another melee as they stared eye-to-eye at the close.
Eager to retain his front foot position, Eubank Jr wasted little time blasting his bitter rivals: “I’m sitting up on the stage with two of the scummiest characters in boxing in my opinion,” he said.
“He’s an idiot, that’s all I can say and I can’t wait for him to get smashed to pieces on April 26,” countered Benn before ripping into Eubank’s IBO title winning efforts.
Giving some insight into the negotiations and role of Turki Al-Alshikh around bringing this fight to fruition, Eubank Jr circled back to their initially scheduled meeting in 2022, stating that he would take £50,000 from his purse to compensate the undercard fighters who lost out during the cancelled first fight. Hearn and Benn were goaded into matching that gesture, genuine or not.
The most interesting portion of the press conference came when Eubank Jr had a few back and forth words with Nigel Benn, calling out his actions during the Tuesday mini brawl. Nigel apologised but had already made his feelings known.
“I don’t see it going four rounds,” he said. “I’m more confident in this fight than the one I had with me and Chris Senior. I’m so relaxed, so sure. Conor is a better fighter than me. When Conor catches him, it could be round one or round two.”
