Home Boxing News Chris Eubank Jr missed out on Gennady Golovkin fight over photo

Chris Eubank Jr missed out on Gennady Golovkin fight over photo

chris eubank jr & his dad

Eddie Hearn has recounted the story behind his short-lived promotion of Chris Eubank Jr.

Hearn’s father Barry had promoted Chris Eubank Sr in the 1990s so it seemed a natural for Eddie to work with the father and son team in 2016.

According to Hearn, Eubank Sr proved as eccentric as ever as they tried to negotiate a deal for Eubank Jr to face Gennady Golovkin.

“So I was trying to do a deal with Chris Eubank Jr,” Hearn told BBC 5 Live.

“It was me, Chris Eubank Jr and Chris Eubank Sr negotiating a deal. We’d agreed all the terms of the deal.

“Then Chris Sr looked at me and said, ‘Edward, there’s one more thing. In your father’s office is a picture of me punching Nigel Benn. It also has the official scorecards from the fight, you must remove the picture and give it to me. If you do I will sign the deal.’

“So I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ve just given you a load of money and everything you want, and now you want a picture off the wall in my Dad’s office?’

“‘Yes, this is correct.’

“I said, ‘Okay, sounds alright to me.’

“Went into my Dad’s office, ‘Alright Dad, it was quite painful, but we’ve done the deal. Just one thing, you know that picture over there, can we have that?’

“He said, ‘Well what do you mean?’

“I said, ‘Well Eubank said if you give him that picture the deal’s done.’

“He said, ‘Tell Eubank to go and stick it up his behind, that is my favourite picture in the world and there is no way I’m removing that from my wall.’

“I said, ‘It’s only a picture, innit?’

“He said, ‘No, no, no, son. Not even up for discussion.’

“So I had to go back and say to him, ‘Chris I’m really sorry, we’ve got a deal, but I can’t deliver you the picture.’

“He said, ‘Then there is no deal because the picture will paint a thousand words and this is part of the deal, a major moment to secure the paperwork.’

“And I just said, ‘Leave me alone, go away.’

“And we’ve never worked together again. No deal.”