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'Absolute car crash!' - Ben Shalom lifts lid on Chris Eubank Jr-Conor Benn negotiations
Ben Shalom has described negotiations for Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn's grudge match as an "absolute car crash" ahead of the pair's hotly anticipated contest.
The two will meet in a domestic middleweight clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this April, live on DAZN, as they seek to settle the long-simmering bad blood between them.
The pair were meant to meet in 2022 before the fight collapsed at short notice after Benn returned an adverse test finding, and both camps have remained at loggerheads.
Speaking before the bout, BOXXER promoter Shalom described the process to seal a deal as a difficult affair, and credits His Excellency Turki Alalshikh as the key broker.
"The thing about Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn is that it’s bigger than boxing, and there’s very few events that are, so of course getting it over the line was tricky," he told Betfred.
"We weren’t involved in the first scheduled fight with the chaos surrounding the drug testing and failed drugs tests, so we came into an absolute car crash.
"[It] involved two fighters that absolutely hate each other. They don’t even want to talk to each other or give anything, but it was the fight to make
“We finally got it over the line with the help of His Excellency because he was able to take ego out of the window.
"Conor didn’t have to see how much Chris was earning, which I think was half the battle. For me, Chris Eubank Jr is far and away the A side and bigger name.
"Of course I’m going to say that, but I think his resume [...] and the fights he’s been in prove that, but we were dealing with a tricky character and another promoter in Matchroom.”
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