As the countdown to their fight continues, Chris Eubank Jr has told of his surprise at some of the demands in the contract he received from Conor Benn when it was first being discussed.
Eubank will face Benn on October 8 in London in a fight which has drawn both hype and criticism from the boxing world. Hype from the fact that it’s reigniting a family rivalry from back when their fathers fought, and criticism because of the catchweight of 157lb – 10lb heavier than Benn fights at and a crucial 3lb less than Eubank does.
Despite all the weight talk, we were told at the time the fight was in negotiations that that in particular wasn’t an issue. In a pre-fight documentary from Matchroom, Eubank Jr has now revealed what needed further discussion.
“I think Conor has the ego. He sent me a contract saying ‘I want to fight you.’ That is ego. To be honest, I felt disrespected when I saw that contract. This guy wants to fight me? Where’s the respect? This guy should be fearing me, not thinking he can beat me. We’re going to have to take him down a notch or two.”
“When I got that contract, I was flabbergasted. And not only telling me he wants to fight me, but telling me it’s ‘Benn – Eubank’ and that he’s gonna walk in second – and I’m gonna wait for him in the ring. The balls on this guy. The balls on Eddie [Hearn]. There were many things in the contract which were not correct. I don’t need this fight, so if I’m going to give you what you want in fighting me, then I’m going to take what I want. I’m not a yes man. Eddie likes yes men.”
He seems to have won the battle on being the first name on the billing, and we can assume he’ll ring walk second on the night from these comments.
With that all settled, what matters now is that the pair will face off on October 8 for legacy, pride, and bragging rights.