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How opening up on his family heartache showed a different side to Chris Eubank Jr
Boxing is synonymous with a machismo and innate aggression in and out of the ring but Chris Eubank Jr showed a different, more vulnerable side at Thursday’s media conference.
The 35-year-old was asked about the physical pain of trying to make the 160-pound limit for his middleweight fight with Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night, live on DAZN PPV.
Benn aimed a vicious slur at Eubank Jr and inferred that his rival would struggle to do so, saying: “Just focus on getting the weight off, fat boy!
“You’ll be in the worst pain you’ve ever experienced come Saturday night, I promise you that right now.”
Amid the bravado from both fighters came a searingly honest admission from Eubank Jr of the mental torture he has experienced from losing his brother Sebastian to a heart attack in 2021.
He also spoke of his hurt at being estranged from his father, Chris Eubank Sr, partly because of a row over the agreed weight for Saturday’s fight.
“What is pain, though?” Eubank Jr asked rhetorically in his usual deliberate and eloquent manner.
“I have a 31-year-old brother who is buried in the desert in Dubai, that’s pain.
“I have his son, three years old, he asks ‘why can’t I see my daddy? Why can’t he take me to school?’ That’s pain.
“My own father, a man I idolised for my entire life, and he doesn't speak to me.
“We haven’t spoken for years and he thinks I’m a disgrace. These things are what pain is to me.”
How not to empathise on some level with that sort of raw emotion; the devastation of losing a brother and being snubbed by your own father.
Even Benn looked lost for words, momentarily at least.
There was a vulnerability to Eubank Jr’s human side and the pain in his eyes was clear to see.
It was hard not to sympathise as he opened up on the family heartache that, certainly in the case of his brother’s death, has left deep mental scars.
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
While he will never get his brother back, it is to be hoped that one day he can reconcile with his dad.
Perhaps the heartache that Eubank Jr spoke of can add fuel to his fire on Saturday night.
Eubank Jr missed weight on Friday and has been hit with a £500,000 fine as a punishment for coming in at 160.2lb, before a second effort of 160.05lb.
Nevertheless, beating Benn would honour his late brother’s memory and maybe even give his old man something to think about too.
Watch three incredible fight nights in one week only on DAZN
Fight fans are in for a treat at the end of April / start of May, with three amazing fight cards within seven days - and DAZN PPV is the only place to watch them all.
- April 26: Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
- May 2: Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero; Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez; Teofimo Lopez vs Arnold Barboza Jr.
- May 3: Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull
Arch rivals Eubank Jr and Benn finally go head-to-head to start the exhilarating week, with PPV prices at £19.95 in the UK; $24.99 in the US; €24.99 in Europe.
Garcia vs. Romero and Canelo vs. Scull fight nights follow, which will both be exclusively on DAZN.
Fight fans can purchase either fight individually for $59.99 US; £/€21.99 UK/IRE; ROW - $24.99 per PPV or take advantage of the DAZN Knockout Weekend Bundle where both fights can be purchased for $90 US; £34.99 in the UK and €34.99 in Europe .
