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Inside the chaotic Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn rivalry set to transcend familial shadows
On the evening of February 25, DAZN Boxing presenter Ade Oladipo took to social media with a selection of images from the day's Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves press conference in Manchester.
The broadcaster's portfolio of pictures shared to his Instagram feed caught him behind the podium, as compere to Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn's media face-off.
There was nothing too revealing for the uninitiated who had not caught the action streamed from the city's Central Convention Complex just an hour or so earlier.
But Oladipo's simple caption was enough of an admission that matters had snowballed into something beyond the usual back-and-forth barbs between fighters and promoters.
"Interesting presser," he wrote, accompanied by the double-eyes emoji. It was something of an understatement, to put it mildly.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Eubank Jr. and Benn arrived in the city where their fathers Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn fought the second of their legendary two-bout rivalry at Old Trafford.
They left with genuine questions over whether they could eclipse that affair entirely , for one reason or another, when they meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26.
This is the story of one mad day in Manchester, as seen through the eyes of DAZN News ' Andrew Steel - and how it has helped shift the story of this fight from one of paternal power to a tale that can stand purely on its own terms.
'A compilation of renaissance paintings'
The still images captured by Matchroom Boxing photographer Mark Robinson, and the videos frantically caught on smart phones from the media, have already acquired a mythical quality.
Benn and his entourage take to the front of the stage first, beneath the snap and crackle of flashbulbs. Eubank saunters into the equation shortly after, surrounded by his own team.
At either side, swathes of burly security men, each built like they could bench-press a double-decker bus for breakfast, hang stoically at the fringes. Tension hangs thick in the air.
Both fighters face each other. Words are quietly exchanged, a constant stream from Benn. Eubank bends his left ear, face to the cameras, as his rival continues to speak.
Then, the moment. Eubank rears back ever so slightly, shoulders rigid for a beat. His left arm draws back and then, in a flash, his palm makes contact with Benn's right cheek .
(Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
The egg breaks. Pandemonium erupts. Benn lunges for Eubank but is dragged back by two, three, four men. His father somehow slips the cordon and brings his hand towards the latter's throat.
Across the auditorium, media and fans alike let of exclamations of shock and surprise - except, it is not a surprise, not really, after all that has transpired, across almost three years and more than three decades.
Next to me, a heavyset man in his mid-fifties jeers loudly at the exchange, as Benn - fuming and roaring - is manhandled back from the fray and away from further escalation.
It is a compilation of renaissance paintings, struck across a celluloid canvas. It is a burst of impressionism, transported into the real world by its moments of madness.
Steve Martin, the American actor and comedian, once said that art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos, that chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is.
There is a warped entertainment value to this sequence, to the thousands who will pile into north London this spring and to the millions who will watch around the world.
'Fighting for their fathers'
Before it had all devolved into scenes befitting its video-game branding and moniker, Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn had spoken on the legacy that these men carry together.
His father Barry was Eubank Sr.'s promoter, and he spent many of his formative years following the star around the world. To him, the famed fighter is a friend of the family.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Now, he is on the other side of the coin. A self-professed "secret fan" of Nigel Benn, he has stood by his son over a prolonged period where he has fought for his reputation.
Hearn, among many things, is a showman. He stepped up to his role with a keen eye for an opportunity, and has helped curate a global slate of superstars in the ring since.
But for him, few come bigger than this - a once-in-a-lifetime concept that spans generations, and effectively serves as the trilogy capper that never happened for many fans.
"I think these guys are fighting for their fathers," he told DAZN. "Nigel feels like he was robbed in the second fight and never got the third. Eubank feels he was the bigger star.
"These guys are fueled by their fathers, like most sons are. You've got their dads in the corner. I think Eubank is the one that is happy with everything that happened.
"Nigel never got a chance to settle a score, and I think part of this inside is him wanting to settle the score with the Eubanks. That's why he's so intense in this camp."
'Conspucous by his absence'
At 61, Benn cuts an intriguing figure at these proceedings. The Dark Destroyer was given the fanfare of a full introduction by Michael Buffer on Tuesday and raptuously received.
Yet his presence serves to offer a sharp reminder of the past - and perhaps a distraction from the fact that the original USP of generational beef has not fully made the present.
While Benn Sr. hovers close to his son at almost every moment of this media parade, around meeting rooms and labyrinthe corridors, Eubank Sr is conspicuous by his absence.
The latter once held a seemingly similar role amid his son's entourage, but has not been part of his boxing journey since long before that first 2022 date with Benn was pencilled in.
In a round table - again, before the main events of a press conference that went off the rails - Hearn spoke about hopes that the elder Eubank would be persuaded to appear this April.
Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing
But ultimately, it is neither his nor anybody else's decision to make, even as His Excellency Turki Alalshikh looks to engineer a featured spot for the former world champion to be seen in.
That is the ultimate kicker though. Once, Eubank Sr. might have been needed to sell this fight - a fight that, once upon a time, was half-built on the history of his name alone.
Now, it is clear that Eubank Jr. and Benn do not need their dads to craft drama. They have stepped away from the shadows of a two-fight legacy in the years since this was first made.
It is their time to shine - and even as many around them continue to build the hype machine as a speculative continuation of a legendary rivalry, the bond between them now thrives on something far more personal.
'A final chapter - and a new book'
Benn and Hearn are noticeably early to their media duties, ushered in and out of conferences and one-on-one opportunities by a bevy of staffers across Tuesday afternoon.
The former, flanked by monogramed members of his team, is initially a relaxed figure, if occasionally a little reticent. His promoter, close to a foot taller, is calm and collected.
But as the day grows long and both men are made to wait for the press conferene to start, frustration begins to creep in. Two hours after he was due, there is no sign of Eubank.
Press and media mill in and out of the auditorium. On the platformed gantry set to one side, DAZN's broadcast time stall for time as they wait for the other man in this match to arrive.
Eventually, Eubank does make his appearance, introduced by Buffer. He saunters around the front of the tables, insists promoter Ben Shalom swaps seats with him and talks over Hearn at every chance he can get.
He speaks of always being the villian of the piece, plays up a reputation that he has been booed in every major British fight he has taken in his career. Barbs continue to fly across the stage.
Then - the face-off. Then - the egg. Then - everything else dissolves.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Eubank does not take media afterwards, his one-on-one commitments long discarded. Instead, surrounded by security, he walks down a corridor past where Benn has been whisked away, slowly tossing another egg in his palm.
On Thursday, Hearn took to social media to reveal 130,000 fans have been in a pre-sale queue specifically reserved for Tottneham Hotspur members - enough to fill the stadium twice over.
When their fathers met for their second match, at Old Trafford over three decades ago, there was reportedly over 42,000 in attendance. It is certain their sons will smash that record.
Benn and Eubank Jr. have both alluded to bad blood beyond the public eye in this contest, something that runs deeper than the first fight being scratched at short notice.
Come April 26, that simmering relationship will come to a full-blooded boil in what looks set to be the most popular fight of the year in the United Kingdom. A contracted rematch could immediately follow.
Nobody knows who will walk away the winner. But one thing seems certain - when the dust settles on this, both men will have not written a new chapter in the legacy of their fathers.
Instead, they will have started a new book on their own - and who knows where it could end up.
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