Eubank Jr. Hopes His Father Will Attend the Benn Fight: "I Pray for It"

IBO middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr. is hoping that his legendary father will be present when he faces Conor Benn on April 26 in London. But the situation is complicated.

“I spoke to him briefly a few weeks ago and told him straight. He said, ‘You shouldn’t have done that. I don’t approve.’ And to be honest, I don’t approve either.

I don’t believe in attacking or hitting an opponent—or doing anything like that. But I did it for a real reason, a genuine reason. It was a gesture, not an act of violence.

I once told him, ‘One day I’ll write a book,’ and if he had stayed close—advising and guiding me like he did early in my career—it would have said: ‘I thought about throwing an egg at Conor, but Dad told me not to. So I didn’t.’

What I do—my choices, my victories, my losses—they’re mine. And I can live with that. I can’t say if my father will be at the fight. I hope so. I pray he will be. I’ll do everything I can to make sure he’s there. But right now, I just don’t know,” Eubank Jr. said.

Chris Eubank Sr. had previously spoken out strongly against the original version of the Eubank–Benn fight, citing concerns over the dangerous weight cut his son would have to make. That opposition appears to have created lasting tension between father and son—even as the biggest fight of Eubank Jr.’s career draws near.