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Leading voice in boxing tells Chris Eubank Jr not to pay 'joke' massive egg slap fine
Boxing journalist and DAZN host Ade Oladipo has hit out at Chris Eubank Jr's £100,000 fine for slapping an egg around the face of Conor Benn at their recent press conference, labelling it as 'ridiculous and a joke'
During the first of two promotional press conferences in Manchester for the Ring's Fatal Fury: City of Wolves fight on April 26, live on DAZN PPV, Eubank Jr smashed a raw egg into the face of his fierce rival , sparking security to separate the two feuding fighters.
Later that week security had to again step in to keep the two apart in a lift and then stood between the pair at their second face-off two days later at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
With the action already becoming an iconic boxing moment, that second press conference even saw the Brighton boxer scanned by an 'egg detector' machine, A la airport security, before taking his seat at the presser.
At the time the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) warned there could be a punishment on the way and have now released their sanction of a £100,000 fine.
Breaking the news live on their Tuesday night DAZN programme - The Ariel x Ade Show - the pair where left shocked at the substantial figure.
Ade Oladipo said: "That is ridiculous. I'm speechless hearing this. That is beyond excessive. Some of the things I've seen happen in press conferences over the years, going back to when I was a kid, this was almost timid in comparison.
"You think what David Haye and Derek Chisora did in their press conferences. The things I've seen Chisora do time and again, he must be broke by now then [if this is the standard]," joked the presenter.
A BBBoC statement said Eubank Jr has been found to be in breach of Regulation 25 (misconduct) for his behaviour. But with no previous misconduct issues to his name, Oladipo was left bemused as to how Eubank Jr was hit so hard.
(Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
"It is not like this is in Eubank’s nature. It should be 'Chris you've been fantastic at every single press conference before. You've been hurled abuse, but you've always controlled yourself and dealt with it all magnificently and conducted yourself correctly'.
"The one time you let it slip and we are going to immediately fine you £100,000. I'm embarrassed for the British Board of Boxing Control and hopefully Chris appeals that and gets his money back or he doesn't pay.
"If this is someone doing it time and again, if they have priors, then yes you understand the authorities having to make a stand and smash a peanut with an axe. You have to really set the example.
"But Chris isn't like that. It was out of character for Chris. So I don't understand why they've come down so heavy on him.
"I'd be shocked if the figure doesn't come down to say £50k or £25k and they just say, ‘pay it and move on'. I'd be shocked if Chris pays £100,000.
"Where does this figure come from too? They've just made it up. That's what annoys me.
"Say Chris was fighting on an undercard, fighting for an area title, would that person get fined £100k. It's like they know what he's getting paid for this fight and they’ve decided to take a chunk of that.
"That figure is a joke. Knowing Chris, he will not be giving up £100k just like that. He will fight it."
The incident transcended regular boxing fans, hitting the mass media, spreading like wildfire and putting boxing back on both the back and front pages of the newspapers and dominating the online and social conversations for days.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn claimed it helped put over 100,000 people on the waiting list to buy fight tickets. The bout is now set to be one of the biggest and most talked about in British history.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
For fellow combat journalist Ariel Helwani, that factor should have been considered too.
"The promotors will tell you, this only made the fight bigger. It got so much more coverage in the media because of that.
"It got the boxing world to speak about a press conference. Not a fight, not a press conference on fight week. Just a press conference!"
"I'm not saying what Chris did was right. I'm not condoning it.
"But this is now bigger. Everyone stands to gain from this incident, including the Boxing Board of Control. So, it seem a little hefty to me for this. £100k is a lot of money.
"We read in the news eggs are expensive these days, but that egg has now become the most expensive egg of all time."
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