Chris Eubank Jr‘s cousin Harlem has revealed he received a called from his uncle, seemingly asking him to step in and face Conor Benn.
Eubank Jr faces one of the toughest tests of his career on Saturday as he prepares to take Benn – a long-time rival – at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. One of the biggest critics of the fight is none other than ‘Next Gen’s’ father, Eubank Sr. Over the last few months, the boxing icon has publicly slammed the fight going ahead and is doing whatever he can to persuade his son to avoid the fight, insisting he’s having to ‘boil himself down’ in order to make the 160lb limit.
“My son is having to boil himself down to 160lbs. Three years ago, they were talking about him coming down 157lbs. This is daylight murder. and when I say murder, you say that’s a bit too strong,” he told iFL TV. The 58-year-old is that serious about his son not competing this weekend that he’s even called another member of the Eubank family to step in.
Harlem – who competes at welterweight – has revealed his uncle spoke to him ahead of Saturday night’s dust-up. In an interview with talkSPORT, he said: “I’m ready to go. My uncle called me this morning asking me if I was ready. I told him ‘I’m good to go.’
Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn will face off on Saturday, April 26, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fans can order the fight on DAZN PPV for £19.95, which also comes with a DAZN seven-day free trial.
“He’s made it out publicly that his views of the fight even on whether or not it will go ahead, but he called me when I was on the train up here saying ‘are you ready? Have you been sparring? Have you been running?’ I said, ‘Listen I get my miles in everyday.’ I’ve been training hard.”
When asked whether Eubank Sr would be in his corner for the potential fight, Eubank replied: “I mean he’s said publicly that because we’re the same weight that he likes the fight, but this fight looks like, regardless of my uncle’s view on it, it looks like it’s going to go ahead, so we’ll see. The fight (him and Benn) is at 147lbs I believe, so regardless, I don’t think he can duck and doge the fight for much longer.”
Eubank competes in and around the same weight class as Benn and has previously declared his own interested in boxing ‘The Destroyer’ after the latter’s clash with his cousin. Ahead of the bout, Eubank Sr issued an emotional plea to his son and has stated that he won’t listen to him as he’s only ‘looking’ at the money he looks set to pocket from the fight.
“He won’t listen to me,” an emotional Eubank said. “He is looking at all the money. What does the dad do if the son won’t listen? Then the dad has to come and speak to the public directly. My son will not listen. For him, he’s being drawn into the however many millions, the money he’s being paid. The point I’m making again is we have a duty of care to fighters.”
Amid concerns about having to make the 160lb limit, Eubank Jr is unfazed and has merely rejected those concerns. “I’ve been doing this for so many years and know my body. It can be horrific but it’s part of what fighters sign up for,” he said. “If we’re going to make all this money, you have to make sacrifices. One of those sacrifices is starving yourself, dehydrating yourself, pulling yourself down to an extremely uncomfortable weight.”
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