After a thrilling fight between Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn came a harrowing aftermath in which both ended up in hospital, a mere two beds apart, yet the break in hostilities was seemingly only momentary for Eubank, the winner by unanimous 12-round decision.

What came before that April 26 London showdown still weighs heavy on the mind of Eubank, a build-up that began in the summer of 2022 and was prolonged when two failed tests from Benn cancelled a contest what was supposed to occur that October.

Though Benn was eventually cleared to fight following a long and winding battle with UKAD and the British Boxing Board of Control, the reason for clomiphene twice being traced in his system, in separate tests conducted five weeks apart, has not been revealed nor liability admitted.

“We have to remember that he did get caught with performance-enhancing drugs in his system,” Eubank told TalkSport. “He’s never owned up to that or apologised for that.

“In that sense I will never respect him. I can’t break bread with him, I can’t shake his hand because there are kids that are looking at this fight, and this whole situation with the drugs, shaking his hand and saying ‘congratulations on a great fight’ sends the wrong message that you can just cheat, come back into the ring after a year or two and it’s all forgotten.

“What he did was unforgivable, and if you were ever going to forgive him, he has to come clean – which he hasn’t. Until that day, we are not okay.”

All of which builds into the marketing patter for a rematch that is still expected to occur later in the year. Benn this week insisted that the contracts are agreed and ready to be signed – with a date in September agreed for either Tottenham Hotspur Stadium or Wembley Satdium.

But Eubank’s failure to make 160lbs (he came in at 0.05lbs over the middleweight limit and could only weigh 170lbs on the morning of the fight) and his subsequent two-day stay in hospital, due in part to severe dehydration, might yet make the rematch problematic to get over the line.