CHRIS EUBANK LAUNCHES SCATHING ATTACK ON BRITISH BOXING BOARD OF CONTROL
Chris Eubank Jr. launched an astonishing attack on the British Boxing Board of Control and its General Secretary Robert Smith at the press conference to formally announce his anticipated rematch with Conor Benn.
Nearly five months on from their epic 12-round battle on the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Eubank and Benn returned Wednesday to the scene for this press conference ahead of their rematch on Nov. 15.
And while both fighters talked briefly of their new-found respect for each other given their all-action clash in the main event of The Ring’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves event, Eubank decided to use the platform to take aim at the Board and Smith, who he labelled a "toad."
Eubank, who beat Benn via unanimous decision, was fined £100,000 for hitting his opponent with an egg during one of their launch press conferences and then had to cough up a further £10,000 for a breach of social media use after he posted videos of his gruelling weight-making process.
The biggest hit to his earnings, however, came when he missed the contracted weight by around half an ounce. For that breach of contract, he had to pay £500,000 of his fight purse to Benn. Eubank, however, laid the blame at the feet of Smith.
He also referenced the fact that Billy Joe Saunders, a former opponent and perhaps an even more bitter rival than Benn, was allowed backstage to watch Eubank's hands being wrapped. The middleweight's security guard, however, refused to let Saunders enter.
“I want to talk about something else,” Eubank said midway through the 30-minute press conference.. “I want to talk about the British Boxing Board of Control and more specifically, a man by the name of Robert Smith.
“This is the big boss behind the scenes, the head honcho, the man with all the power that controls everything that goes on in professional boxing inside the UK. This guy is a big deal, he really is.
“This idiot allowed a room full of media and cameramen into my private weigh-in the day before the fight. The time that it took to get these people out contributed to me missing the weight and getting fined £500k.
“He let Conor Benn fight in gloves filled with horsehair knowing that it was a direct breach of the contract I had for this fight.
“On fight night he personally escorted an arch nemesis of mine, Billy Joe Saunders, to my changing room to disrupt and try and ruin my preparations for the biggest fight of my life.
“Then afterwards he gets into the ring and tries to shake my hand and congratulate me. I mean, the balls on this guy. It’s viciously clear for me to see that this toad is nothing more than a puppet and a pawn.
“I think he is in the back pockets of Matchroom and Eddie Hearn. So unfortunately, just another scumbag in this treacherous and under-handed industry we find ourselves in. It’s unfortunate.”
But Eubank’s tirade did not stop there. He also claimed that the ambulance which took him to the hospital straight after the fight was delayed by 20 minutes, and asked why the Board failed to investigate that.
He then called for more transparency on where exactly the money raised from the fines has gone.
He added: “Now continuing on from that, the British Boxing Board of Control opened several investigations into some of the things I did in the lead up to the fight. No investigations, by the way, into why my ambulance was stopped from leaving the stadium for 20 minutes.
“But I guess trying to find out why I was talking about being in a sauna before the fight is much more important.
“Anyway, the Board have graciously awarded me with a multitude of fines over the last six months, and my question is, where is this money going? The Boxing Board of Control are supposed to be supporting the foundations and governing the community of boxing in Great Britain.
“So in my eyes, the money that I’ve been fined should be going to the community, should be going to kids that can’t afford equipment, should be going to local gyms or to fighters who have suffered injuries. As far as I can see it, that’s not happening. ...
“I’m asking the media to shine a light on this situation and find out where all this money is going. Because it’s not going to the community, I’ll tell you that now.”
Of course Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn was not immune to Eubank’s outburst. The pair have a long-standing feud, and Eubank accused the Matchroom boss of being ‘ruthless, immoral and without restraint’.
He gestured toward Benn and Hearn and said: “These are not men of the people. They’re pretending to be the good guys, Wolves in sheep’s clothing if you will. They will do anything they can and screw anyone over they can to try and get ahead. They are ruthless, immoral and without restraint.
“They did everything they could to try and destroy me in the last fight; contract breaches, fines, rehydration clauses, sabotaged weigh-in, biased commentary and refereeing. The list goes on, it’s endless.”
In response, Hearn said: “You’re talking about… we put things in place that you signed to do. You signed. We see through your games. We will see.”
The Ring reached out to Robert Smith in relation to Eubank’s comments but at the time of writing there was no response.