During a media tour between old British rivals Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank Sr, it was only a matter of time before they were asked about their thoughts on the circumstances surrounding the recent cancellation of their sons’ fight, after Conor Benn tested positive in a drug test. Here Nigel Benn says they’ll be working hard to clear Conor’s name, insisting that he knows the character of the man.
To make things perhaps even more interesting, Nigel Benn has admitted that he was wrong for believing this fight can be safely held at a catchweight of 157 lbs, and says if Conor does in fact go through with the fight going forward that he wants it to happen at the full middleweight limit.
“I know my son,” Nigel Benn would begin. “I’m 59 years old, I trained twice a day everyday. I’m a dedicated person. Anything I put my mind to, I do. Me at my peak, I’m here, My son Conor and his fitness regime is already (well above what I was ).
“If my son ever, ever, ever took performance enhancing drugs, I’m sorry to say, I’d hang him out. I’d say ‘you know what, son, I love you but you’re on your own.’ But I know my son. He’s got my DNA, he would never do that. There’s so much that’s gonna come out now and the only thing I can say, I just pray to God that the apology is as loud as the way they’ve already convicted him.
“Me and Chris (Sr), we were doing a zoom call and Chris was saying to me that ‘my son can’t make the weight, my son can’t do this, my son can’t make 157.’ And I said ‘I didn’t choose the weight, your son chose the weight.’ So me and Chris was going back and forth and Chris was so adamant ‘he’s not making weight, it’s gonna hurt him, he won’t be strong and I’m gonna stop this.’ I thought to myself ‘it was your son that made the weight.’
“He kept on going on, kept on going on, kept on going on, and then I saw a picture of Chris Eubank Jr on the net or the papers, and I looked at the picture and I saw him, his face — is not there, and his body is emaciate. And I sent Chris a text saying ‘Sorry, Chris. I didn’t realize what you were saying.’ And I asked Chris, ‘Please forgive me, Chris’ because I honestly believe if my son had fought Chris now, personally I believe Conor would’ve hurt him just like what happened to Gerald McClennan.
“It wasn’t nobody’s fault, but I believe Jesus stopped this fight happening because I don’t want nothing on my son’s head...God said ‘this is not happening, not until I clear my son’s name.’ And I said to Conor ‘If you do fight him, he’s not fighting at 157. I want you to fight him at 160.’”
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