‘No going back’ – Chris Eubank Jr adhering to strict regime ahead of Conor Benn grudge match
CHRIS EUBANK JR is adhering to the strictest of regimes ahead of his family grudge match with Conor Benn.
The IBO middleweight champion will throw down with the son of his old man’s bitter rival, Nigel Benn, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a week on Saturday.
Tensions between the pair have been high ever since their first scheduling meeting was scrapped in October 2022 due to a pair of failed drug tests for welterweight contender Benn.
Eubank Jr upped the ante in February by slapping his rival with an EGG, a reference to his excuse for his anti-doping violations.
The loser of the Tottenham tussle will be left at a career crossroads, and Eubank Jr is leaving no stone unturned to make weight and have his hand raised, telling Sky Sports: “Every day is a graft.
“Every day is a grind, every day is a challenge to push yourself, to rest properly, to refuel, to rehydrate.
“Everything is scheduled, it’s strict, it’s regimented. That’s what you have to do to prepare to go to war.
“The real weight cut doesn’t come until the week of the fight for most fighters. It is tough, I’m not going to lie.
“It’s not fun, it’s not a nice part of the sport having to boil yourself down to a certain weight.
“Adding in the fact that I can now not rehydrate fully, I can’t eat and drink as much as I want after the weigh-in, adds another element of discomfort and hardship to what I’m going through.
“But this is what we sign up for, this is what we do as professional athletes.
“As elite-level fighters, you have to go through these trials, these tribulations, and I’ve been doing it my entire career so I have no doubt that the weight will be made.”
The Spurs slugfest will be the biggest fight of both men’s respective careers, although Eubank Jr isn’t thinking about the magnitude of the domestic dust-up, saying: “I’m not focused on the amount of people that will be there.
“I’m not focused on the scale of this event, I’m not focused on the hype around this fight. All of that is really irrelevant.
“What’s important is the fight, what happens when that bell goes.
“Whether there’s 70,000 people there or seven people, my mindset, my game plan, my strategy is going to be exactly the same.
“This is the first megafight in boxing history where you have two bad guys.
“You have the potential for both fighters in a superfight being booed into the ring.
“It’s never happened before and it’s probably going to happen on April 26.”
The British Boxing Board of Control hit Eubank Jr – the son of former middleweight champ Chris Eubank Sr – with a £100,000 fine for his egg antics.
Eubank Jr insisted it was worth every penny but is now looking to contest the severity of the punishment.
He said: “We are dealing with the situation. £100,000 for throwing an egg seems a little bit strong, especially looking at what others have been fined for what would seem to be much more serious incidents over the years.
“I don’t think anyone has gotten anywhere close to a 100k fine, tables be thrown, people getting punched in the face, slapped in the face.
“So £100k for an egg, it’s steep and we will deal with the situation.”