Chris Eubank Jnr is the subject of legal proceedings from the British Boxing Board of Control and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing following comments made at the September press conference to promote Saturday’s rematch with Conor Benn.
Eubank alleged that the ambulance he was in after the first contest was held up at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by more than 20 minutes by representatives of Matchroom. “They will screw over anyone, they will cut any corners, they will walk over anyone and break any rules to try and get ahead,” Eubank Jnr said in September. “They did everything they could to try and destroy me in the last fight.”
Last week, he posted a 10-second clip of his ambulance attempting to leave the soccer stadium amid chaotic scenes. BoxingScene understands that the delay seen in the video was due to a communication breakdown between the ambulance bay and control in the stadium – and was nothing whatsoever to do with Hearn or the Board’s general secretary Robert Smith.
In September, Hearn reacted to the accusations. “There is a log of procedures for every fight, when ambulances arrived, when they left,” said the promoter. “What he accused us of is unforgettable. When we’re a company as serious as we are, trust me, we’ll deal with that.”
The time that elapsed between Eubank, the winner of the contest via unanimous 12-round decision, leaving the ring and arriving at Royal London Hospital, which is seven miles south of the stadium, was less than 45 minutes. Once there, Eubank was treated for severe dehydration and received stitches on a facial wound. He was discharged on Monday, April 18, two days after the fight.
The build-up to that first encounter was also marred by controversy and behind-the-scenes legal battles. Originally scheduled to take place in October 2022, it was cancelled two days beforehand when it emerged that Benn, 23-1 (14 KOs), had twice tested positive for banned substance clomifene. It would take Benn, now 29, more than two years to be cleared to such a degree that he could fight in the UK again.
Eubank, meanwhile, never wasted an opportunity to remind his rival of those failed tests, even smashing an egg into the face of Benn in reference to an early WBC hearing that concluded increased egg consumption might have resulted in the presence of clomifene. For that, Eubank was fined the sum of £100,000 by the BBBoC.
Eubank, 35-3 (25 KOs), lost further money on the eve of the bout when he failed to make the middleweight limit of 160lbs by 0.05lbs. That failure cost Eubank a reported $500,000 (£375,000) as per the contract between the fighters. He did, however, make the agreed 170lbs weight on the morning of the fight but only after posting footage of himself in heat suits with suggested use of a sauna, which is against BBBoC rules. The Board would later fine Eubank £10,000 for ‘misuse of social media’ regarding the images he posted.
Saturday’s sequel, again at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, will see the same weight stipulations in play for the 12-rounder.
