Yesterday it was reported on various media outlets that Chris Eubank Sr pulled his son, Chris Eubank Jr, out of his October 8th fight with Conor Benn amid fears that making the catchweight limit of— could be potentially life threatening. Eubank Sr was quoted as saying:
“His life cannot be put in danger… I’ve already lost one son. I can’t lose another.”
Further quotes by him featured in the Daily Mail said:
“If he doesn’t take the advice then I have to put my foot down… have you ever heard of Russian Roulette? When you spin that barrel, that’s what he’s doing and that I can’t let him. I’ve given him my direction. If he doesn’t want to follow it, he will be dragged along. But he will do what is right for him… he is coming down 1oz below 160lbs which cannot happen on my watch. This is modern day ‘gladiating’, this is not a play thing for the audience. We have to be strict otherwise lives are put in danger and my son’s life cannot be put in danger. I’ve already lost one. It can’t happen again… if you have a child and someone’s trying to actually take that child away from you, and do something wrong to that child, as a dad you wouldn’t let them. That’s all I’m doing.”
The fight originally consisted of pitting welterweight Benn with middleweight Eubank with both boxers agreeing a catchweight limit of 157lb in order to make the contest. This author had never really agreed that such a fight should have been proposed in the first place, as it clearly was a fight that was designed to capitalise on the nostalgia of the two classic British bouts between their fathers that took place during the early 1990’s. I never really felt that it was going to be a fair fight and Eubank Sr validated my concerns when he said that he would not be going into a situation like that without being 100% himself.
With Eubank Jr vs Benn now in doubt, I am sure there will be a wealth of disappointment among fans.
But let’s look at it this way.
If we delve a bit deeper and put the excitement for the proposed fight to one side for a second, you have to ask yourself what it would have achieved for the future legacy of either boxer. I think the answer is not much. Benn and Eubank would have suffered a loss likely for nothing. Benn would have went in putting his unbeaten record at risk. And for what? Fighting a bigger man that does not hold a world title? As for Eubank, he is still in the process of rebuilding himself after his loss to George Groves and is taking his time to learn new things. And another loss, especially against a smaller man, would have likely put a big dent in that idea. Eubank’s plan to eventually fight for a belt again would have probably been scuppered for good.
We still have to wait for an official confirmation of the cancellation of the October 8th bout. Further developments are still unfolding as of this writing.
