Chris Eubank Jr has revealed that he signed to fight Conor Benn without being made aware that he had failed a drug test the previous month.
The fight between the pair – billed as ‘Born Rival’s due to their fathers’ boxing feud and set for October 8 – was pulled at the very last minute following news that Benn had tested positive for a banned substance in September.
In the aftermath, an interview with the young welterweight revealed that he had failed a test prior to this in July for the same substance. Despite the magnitude of this in such a dangerous sport, Eubank Jr told Sky Sports that he was not informed when signing the contract in August.
“There’s no forgetting, absolutely not. Forgiveness, no, I don’t need to have that in my mind.”
“I was never told about the first failed drugs test, which is pretty incredible but true. Nobody told me. I wouldn’t have accepted the fight in August if I’d known he’d failed a test before and by the time I did find out it was too late. It was a very bad situation for me, for boxing, for the fans.”
Eubank has now seemingly moved on, with a new opponent in Liam Smith lined up for January, but a Benn fight may not be off the cards entirely for the future. He believes Benn will carry the scars forever, no matter the result of ongoing investigations.
“I feel bad for the kid, he’s really messed up and he’s going to have to answer for his wrongdoings eventually. I know he’s gone MIA for the last few months. He was on Instagram and Twitter every single day for the last however long and now no one knows where he is.”
“What’s happened has happened. It’s been out there for too long, too many people think that he cheated. He has to accept that and that’s the only way he’s going to be able to move forward.”
“Even if it is proven to be a mistake and he is innocent, he’s still guilty in the eyes of the public. That’s just how the world works unfortunately. Once you’ve been branded you can’t ever get away from that.”