Ahead of his catchweight bout with Conor Benn, Chris Eubank Jr insists that nothing – including a public intervention from his father – will stop the fight going ahead.
Chris Eubank Jr and Nigel Benn fought twice in the nineties, thrilling fans in the process. Despite both hanging up the gloves years ago, the rivalry has been inherited by their sons and is set to be settled in the ring once more on October 8.
Amongst the hype of the sell-out spectacle, one man – namely Eubank Sr – is absolutely not onboard. Citing the 157lbs weight limit as dangerous for his son, who has fought regularly at 160 and occasionally at 168, Eubank Sr is campaigning for the fight to be called off.
Addressing his old man’s concerns directly, Eubank Jr accepts them but insists he can’t dwell on anything other than preparing to win. The fighter revealed his thoughts exclusively to the Daily Star.
“I can’t have any negative thoughts or worries from any other people affect my mindset and how I will proceed with this fight. He’s my father, he may be worried about me cutting the weight and all the rest of it but I can’t let that affect me and what I want to do. I have to believe in myself.”
“I’m not saying he doesn’t believe in me or believe that I’m going to do it but he’s saying it’s a danger. He probably is right. It is a danger but I’m a dangerous man.”
It’s the first time the fighter has publicly commented on his father’s disapproval of the fight. Eubank Sr doubled down recently on his pleas for it to be pulled, drawing on the untimely passing of his other son, Sebastian, to highlight the trauma he’s been through.
Eubank Jr says he will be using the heartbreak as motivation.
“It’s upsetting and sad that he may have those thoughts going through his head, but that’s him. As a man I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do to win and to be able to perform at my best mentally.”
“Mentally you can’t worry about family, friends or what’s happened in the past. I’m using my brother as fuel, I’m doing this for him.”
As for the relatively urgent matter of a trainer on the night, Eubank Jr still isn’t sure if his father will want to be involved – but he is somewhat optimistic.
“I’m still hopeful that as we get closer to the fight we can come to some type of agreement. As of this moment in time, I don’t know what his thoughts are.”
No matter who fills that vital space in the corner, Eubank and Jr and Benn goes ahead if contracted weights are met. UK fans can tune in via DAZN PPV.