‘I needed to step out of his big shadow’ – Chris Eubank Jr reveals relationship with dad has broken down completely
CHRIS EUBANK Jr issued a moving plea for his dad to be by his side for the biggest fight of his life.
He revealed father Chris’ hatred of his upcoming clash with Conor Benn has destroyed their relationship.
While Eubank Sr’s old rival Nigel Benn is a staunch supporter of his lad, the damage to his own relationship is yet to be repaired.
Eubank Jr, who has been fined £100,000 for slapping Benn with an egg, believes the scars left by the death of his brother Sebastian from a heart attack at the age of just 29, in 2021, affected his dad.
In an exclusive interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored – where the pair had to be separated – the 35-year-old said: “It got to a stage where I needed to step out of the shadow completely. It’s a big shadow.
“I realised I have to separate myself from this huge character that’s always next to me.
“He’s different. His father kind of let him do his own thing; jump in and sink or swim.
“My old man was always, always next to me. I got to a stage where I decided that I needed to walk my own path.
“He was not happy with that decision. And then you have a situation with my brother passing away.
“That affected him in a deep way — affected all of us — mental health is a real thing.
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“That incident, coupled with the fact that we were already not seeing eye to eye, destroyed a large part of the relationship and it still hasn’t recovered.”
Eubank Sr, 58, had two epic fights with the Dark Destroyer Benn — ending his rival’s 22-fight winning record to become WBO middleweight champion in 1990 before their 1993 rematch ended in a draw.
But when their sons’ cash-grab bout was due to take place in 2022, Eubank Sr spoke out passionately against it.
He predicted that fight — for which his son boiled down to an emaciated 159lb — would be cancelled.
That was proved correct when it was canned two days out, as Benn’s two failed VADA drugs tests were laid bare.
And he still insists this re-arranged version — scheduled for Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26 — will be binned too.
When Eubank Jr was asked to send a message directly to his dad, he replied: “I’m here. I’m getting ready for the biggest fight of my life.
EUBANK JR’S PLEA
“If you want to be next to me, like his father’s next to him, we can do it together. If not, no hard feelings, I’ll get the job done for you — don’t worry about it.
“He’s my old man. It doesn’t matter if I don’t talk to him until the day I die.
“I’m always gonna love him. He taught me everything. As far as I know, he doesn’t want this fight to go ahead.”
The sons’ increasingly bitter rivalry made headlines at the end of last month when Eubank Jr smashed an egg on Conor’s face as a reminder to the world that excessive egg consumption was blamed for a failed test.
His suspension was withdrawn after Ukad said the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) was “not comfortably satisfied” Benn committed a doping offence.
Your own dad doesn’t even like you
Conor Benn Jr
And Eubank Jr landed dozens of verbal blows on Benn at that launch press conference in Manchester.
He accused Benn of being in debt to promoter Eddie Hearn, after spending millions of pounds on his doping defence, and labelled him a “dirty little omelette”.
Benn’s most spiteful reply at the launch was to bark back: “Your own dad doesn’t even like you.”
The 28-year-old doubled down on that barb on Morgan’s show but also showed some humility by wishing the pair can reunite in time for the fight.
Benn said in the studio: “It’s a matter of fact your dad doesn’t like you, otherwise he would be here. But it would be nice to see your dad there in your corner.
“We are where we are because of our dads. They have laid the foundation.
“It’d be great to see your dad in your corner and you mend that relationship. That’s coming from my heart, not being sarcastic. I mean what I say.”
Watch the full interviews on Piers Morgan Uncensored’s YouTube channel on Friday at 7pm.