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Chris Eubank Jr reveals reason for broken relationship with father ahead of Conor Benn fight
Chris Eubank Jr has opened up about the broken relationship with his father ahead of his showdown with Conor Benn.
Taking place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26 live on DAZN PPV, Eubank Jr and Benn will finally clash inside a boxing ring three years after they were scheduled to meet at the O2 Arena.
This particular contest has captured the imagination of British fight fans with this being the latest chapter in the Eubank-Benn rivalry which dominated the boxing landscape in the 1990s.
In the build-up to this contest, Nigel Benn, Conor's father, has been at his son's side, while Chris Eubank Sr has not.
The fractured relationship between Eubank Jr and his father has been a talking point amongst the boxing world for quite some time, and appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Eubank Jr spoke about the reasons behind this rift.
“It got to a stage where I needed to step out of the shadow completely,” Eubank Jr said with Benn looking on.
“It’s a big shadow. [Conor is] also in a big shadow. Mine was a blessing, too, but it got to a stage where I realised: ‘I have to separate myself from this huge character that’s always next to me.’
“[Conor is] different. His father kind of let him do his own thing and jump in and sink or swim. My old man was always next to me, and it got to a stage where I decided that I needed to walk my own path. He was not happy with that decision. That’s the start of it.
“Then you have the situation with my brother passing away. That affected him in a deep way – it affected all of us. Mental health is a real thing. That incident, coupled with the fact that we were already not seeing eye to eye, destroyed a large part of the relationship. And it still doesn’t seem to have recovered."
Sebastian Eubank, Eubank Jr's brother, died on a beach in Dubai in 2021, aged just 29.
“Of course [I’ve reached out]. No, no he hasn’t [rebuffed me]. He needs to be able to get over whatever demons he’s fighting. Now, this fight is either gonna enable him to get over those demons or unfortunately it’s gonna make those demons grow. I don’t know," Eubank Jr continued.
“I still hope he’s there on the night, just like [Benn’s] old man will be. I honestly don’t know. I hope and I pray that he is [there], and I will do things to try and get him there. But if he isn’t, guess what? I’m still gonna go out there and do the job.”
There is no love lost between Eubank Jr and Benn with the media tour ahead of the bout highlighted by the former slapping Benn with an egg during a face off.
Eubank Jr has since been punished for his actions by the British Boxing Board of Control who gave the 35-year-old a £100,000 fine.
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