British boxing legend Nigel Benn was spotted springing to his son’s defence to try and strangle Chris Eubank Jr during Tuesday’s chaotic press conference. Eubank Jr and Benn will follow in their fathers’ footsteps and meet in the ring on 26 April in what has developed into one of the most vicious rivalries in the sport.
The two came face-to-face at a press conference in Manchester last night with tensions inevitably boiling over as Eubank Jr slapped his rival with an egg on stage, sparking a wild brawl. Benn Snr has been in his son’s corner at various stages of his career and was in attendance at Thursday’s press conference. He and Eubank Snr shared one of British boxing’s most enthralling rivalries over 30 years ago, captivating the nation across two bouts in 1990 and 1993.
![[Chris Eubank Jr v Conor Benn Press Conference]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GettyImages-2201955132.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
As security waded in to separate the two boxers, footage released later in the evening showed Benn Snr making a beeline for Eubank Jr. The former super-middleweight champion is seen furiously wrapping his hands around the 35-year-old’s neck before a member of security pushes him away.
Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn was also in the thick of it, seen arguing with Ben Shalom, Eubank Jr’s promoter, before shoving him on stage. After some calm had been restored, Hearn urged anyone in the building to avoid crossing paths with an irate Benn Snr for the rest of the night.
‘Everything he [Eubank Jnr] does is pre-meditated,’ Hearn told Sky Sports. ‘He has sat at the press conference the whole time with an egg and he’s slapped Conor Benn in the eye. I’ve got to be honest with you, I thought it was a glass because when it smashed, bits were flying everywhere.
‘The world we live in today, it will go viral, people will think it’s quite funny but I will tell you one thing, in the fight game, everything changes now. ‘You don’t wanna be backstage right now. If you see Nigel Benn tonight, run. These aren’t normal people, they don’t have a cup of tea and forget about it. This had bad blood and everything has changed.
‘I don’t know if we can have Thursday’s press conference now because it will be attack on sight.’. Eubank Jr and Benn were originally scheduled to meet in the ring in October 2022 before the latter returned two failed drugs tests, forcing the all-British contest to be abandoned just days before the opening bell.
