All Episodes
Previous Next
Plain Text
March 14, 2025 - Uncensored - Piers Morgan
01:35:40
20250314_chris-eubank-jr-conor-benn-face-off-on-uncensored-
Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
|

Time Text
Unacceptable Drug Failures 00:11:22
You can shake this prick for any eggs.
I don't need eggs, my friend.
These fists are more than enough.
I'm just getting my makeup done, Chad.
Probably not conducive with two pugilists.
They hate what he stands for.
They hate what he did.
Failing these two drugs tests is unacceptable.
No ban, clear to fight, no fine.
That's one thing.
I don't care if he's good.
But that is true.
Was there drugs in your system?
Maybe not.
None of your business.
I think he's an absolute idiot.
But big head.
Even your dad don't like you.
That's an accomplishment.
What possibilities slap you right now?
You try to give it and not take it.
Sport means the world to many people.
The athletes sacrifice everything to be the very greatest.
The fans see a punishing battle against pain and adversity that somehow, in just hours or minutes, seems to mirror the whole mission of life itself.
And every once in a while, on the very rarest of occasions, it feels even more important than all of that.
Chris Eubank Jr. versus Connor Benn is not just a boxing match.
It's a family feud, a bit of rivalry, a story of shame, of scandal.
35 years ago, their fathers, Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn, fought the first of their legendary title battles.
Now, after years of delay, Eubank Jr. and Ben will finally face off.
Fatal Fury, City of the Wolves, is at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26th.
It's the first ever boxing card from the iconic Ring magazine, the Bible of boxing for more than a century.
And before they face each other in the ring, they're going to face each other tonight in the uncensored studio.
I'm delighted to welcome Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn.
Well, good evening, gentlemen.
Good evening.
I've been watching the press conferences that happened, and there's real hatred here.
I've interviewed a lot of boxers.
I've rarely detected such a palpable loathing that people have for each other as you two do.
That's why we've got two security guys here.
Wouldn't normally have that for an interview, but we were advised by your teams that we should do that in case you start hitting each other.
I simply make a plea to you that I know you've done stuff that has played out in the way that it has.
I hope we can have a proper conversation about what is an extraordinary moment in British sport when you two fight.
I was around in newspapers when your dads fought.
They were two of the biggest fights that anyone can remember.
I've interviewed them both, and I know the rivalry and I know the family history.
But I hope for the purposes of this interview, we can get through it in a civilized way and that you both feel you get something out of it.
Let me just ask you both, and there's no particular order here, but Connor, when you think back to your dad and the fights that he had against Chris Eubank Sr., you weren't even born when that happened.
But what memories do you have of the aftermath and the rivalry?
Well, I mean, it captured the imagination of the public.
It was a fight in an era generation where it was heavily spoken about.
It was one of the biggest fights of all time for those 18.5 million viewers.
You know, so yeah, it was a massive rivalry.
There were two big personalities, two big stars, people investing character, and you know, the characters were off the charts.
Did it instill in you this feeling that you have for Chris Jr.?
No, not at all.
I mean, at one stage, it was looking impossible.
It wasn't even a fight that was on our radars.
You know, I'm a 1475, he's a 160 fighter, and our paths just happened to cross.
You talk about the stars of the line.
You can say that.
Chris, for you, I mean, I've interviewed your dad at length, and he had some extraordinary fights, not just with his dad, but with people like Michael Watson, who ended up in a wheelchair.
I was ringside when Nigel Benn fought Jerry McLennan, who ended up in a wheelchair.
This is a brutal sport.
People have died in the ring.
People have been left paralyzed by fighting.
When you have a hatred that's as real as this, does that play on your mind?
I don't hate this man.
I would never give him that type of power over me.
I hate what he stands for.
I hate what he did.
I hate what he represents.
But as him, as a person, I'm not going to say I hate him.
I'm not giving him that power over me.
I don't hate anybody.
I've just got to make sure that we set an example here.
You know, what he did in failing these two drugs tests, in my opinion, is unacceptable.
As you said, people have been paralyzed, people have died.
So for anybody who is out there thinking to cheat, they have to be made an example of.
They have to be punished.
They have to be embarrassed.
And that's what I've been doing.
I mean, I interviewed Connor in this very studio at the height of all the allegations against him.
He was passionate in his denial that he'd ever cheated.
And we went through a pretty tough grilling that night.
And it got very emotional for him.
And I guess in the end, only he knows for sure.
But the reality is that all the interrogatory, investigatory bodies have cleared him to fight in this fight with you.
So you might think he's a cheat, and you're perfectly entitled to your view.
But the reality is, if he was a convicted cheat, he wouldn't be able to fight you.
So do you accept that for the purposes of your fight that he's not a convicted cheat?
He's someone that you might think he is, but he's not been convicted of that.
Whether he's been convicted or not is irrelevant.
The fact is substances were found in his system.
You know, there have been thousands of fighters that have been popped for performance-enhancing drugs and been banned.
And been banned.
And been banned.
Or been fined.
Every single one.
Every single one.
I've not received a fine.
I've been cleared by three organisations, by the NADP, the WBC, UCAD, no ban, clear to fight, no fine.
It's not good.
That's what I've done.
I don't care if it's good.
But that is true, whether you like it or not.
That is the truth of where we are.
Professional arguing.
You need to do better.
It's a pathetic argument.
There are plenty of fighters even now in boxing today that have failed drugs tests.
They've been fined or served bans and then they've been let back into the ring.
This is in no way different.
He got caught.
He went out of boxing for a little bit, spent a million dollars trying to clear his name.
You know what?
That's why you're an idiot.
Because I've been cleared by three organisations.
I don't care.
People were a lot smarter than you.
Was there drugs in your system?
This is you talking personally.
Was there drugs in your system?
Maybe not.
None of your business.
I've been cleared three times.
It is my business when you came to fight me.
Yeah, but you don't know the internet.
You think you found it.
Let me try to explain it to you.
Let me ask you, Connor, on that point, because you raised it at one of the press conferences.
And it's a valid point.
Do you accept that these substances were found in your body?
There's nothing to accept.
No.
It's the facts.
No?
No.
It's the facts.
I never took anything knowingly.
I never told anyone.
But that's a different question.
Whether you took it knowingly or not, do you accept that they were not...
I struggle to accept it still.
Because you don't want to accept it.
I struggle to accept it.
Let's say that he...
Was an accident, Chris.
No, I need to say that.
He's not saying it was an accident.
Let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
He didn't know how the drugs were going to be.
Wait a second.
First of all, let's acknowledge the fact that he's accepted.
I don't need to acknowledge anything.
Well, you don't need to, but I do.
And the viewers, I think for the point of your...
The drugs were in his system, whether he knew about them or not.
I'm going to come to that.
They were in his system?
Chris, I'm going to come to that.
For the purposes of the interview, though, and for the viewers watching, that's an important admission.
We've got it.
Hang on.
We've got it.
Hang on.
But it still doesn't mean you're not guilty.
Let me conduct the interview, how I want to conduct it.
I will come to you for that point you're making now.
Because you asked the question, and I asked it on your behalf, and we got a concession from Connor that, yes, the substances were in his body, but you didn't take it deliberately is yours.
I never took anything.
That's it.
Never took anything.
Never certainly knowing anything.
Now, your point is that from that moment, and there'll be a lot of people who agree with you, that from that moment, if you're an elite athlete of any kind in a professional sport and they find substance in your body, whether you intended it to be there or not, we've seen it with tennis players recently.
We've seen it obviously with cyclists and so on, sprinters and whatever, that from that point, everyone should be treated the same and get a ban.
But in all of those cases, in all of those sports, the arbitrating bodies investigate and they make a conclusion.
And rather like a criminal court, people may not like the conclusion.
They may still suspect that person.
But if you've gone through due process, and no one can argue he didn't, he went through due process for years, right?
It nearly ruined him.
And I saw him at his darkest moment in here, and it was dark.
This was a guy on the edge.
Correct.
Right, okay.
You might say good.
Okay, fine.
You're going to be on the edge come April 26th.
Okay, and we'll come to that, the fight in a moment.
But just for the purposes of this, if you need to accept, do you not, due process was conducted.
And at the end of it, they make conclusions.
You may not like the conclusions.
You may not accept the conclusions, but they are conclusions which have allowed this fight to happen.
Without them concluding that he hadn't done this deliberately, you wouldn't be getting in the ring with him.
Again, fighters can fail drugs tests and appear back in the ring.
It's happened a million times before, and it will happen a million times again.
This is what's happened with Connor.
Whether he is innocent of knowing, of not knowing how the drugs got in the system, you're still guilty.
Do you accept that can happen?
Because as a fighter, it is your job to know everything you are eating, drinking, putting into your system.
If you don't monitor it and somebody slips something in somewhere, which I do not believe, but if that's what he's trying to say happened, it's still your fault.
You're still guilty.
You're still a drugste.
And we still have to make an example of it.
Connor, you've said to me before, it's been your position, I think, that you believe it may have come from contaminated eggs.
Is that still your position about it?
Is that what you think is the...
The case is done.
I'm not here to talk about a case at all.
Destroying Your Father's Legacy 00:14:42
I'm only asking because he hit you with an egg, obviously.
He can do what he wants.
He's an idiot.
And he's an idiot that's going to get chinned come April 26.
Period.
Irrelevant of what it was, the stars of a line for me to render you unconscious.
Let me ask you, Chris, about your dad and the legacy.
You were a bit older, I think, when your dad first fought Nigel.
I think you were about four and then about seven when they fought again.
Is that about right?
I believe that's what memories do you have of either or both fights.
I mean, at the time, I was too young.
But later on in my life, you know, as I got older, I started to understand what it was my father did, who he was, what he'd gone through.
And I learned that Nigel Benn was his arch nemesis, was the man that put him through hell for years and years and years, was the man that they built their careers with, the man that he did that with.
Why did your dad view him as his arch nemesis?
They fought in front of 15 million people, watched them fight.
But often boxers that have, I mean, I remember Arli Frazier had equally ferocious, if not more so, battles in the heavyweight division, but became close friends in later life.
That may be.
I don't think that these two particular men have it in them in terms of personalities to ever just be to forget the past and to be friendly.
Have they ever been friendly?
You'd have to ask them.
I don't know.
I know my father, who was the one that said, I don't hate that man, is similar to me.
He doesn't harbor emotion like the Bens do.
We've actually got it.
We've got that clip, actually.
Let's take a look at that.
This man is nothing but the real hype.
I come up the hard way.
I've been afraid by myself, boy.
You had your time.
Let's have some parliamentary procedure here, all right?
Oh, God.
I have nothing to say to Nigel.
I find the man intolerable in fact he's so wild.
I have no time for such people.
He has no class as far as I feel.
About Nigel Benn, I would say this.
The man is a powerful puncher.
A very powerful puncher.
For this, I would like a photograph because after I've finished with him, he isn't going to be anybody.
I personally do hate him.
I personally do hate him.
So is there any point in me asking you to shake hands upside down?
No, gentlemen, all four of you, thanks for joining us tonight.
Thank you.
I mean, I'm struck immediately by the similarity with you guys.
And it goes further than just the name.
But, Connor, your dad there openly saying he hated Chris Eubank Sr., but Chris Eubank not saying that, and you're not saying that again here.
Do you see a parallel there?
Are you very likely?
I just personally think he's an idiot.
I think he's an absolute idiot with a big head.
A clean idiot, though.
Yeah, but you're still an idiot, though.
You're still an idiot that nobody likes.
As I said, even your dad don't like you.
That's an accomplishment.
As long as that's.
That's it, period.
That's it.
Well, let's talk about that for a moment because you have a very good relationship with your father.
Unbelievable relationship.
Has he always been good?
He's my hero.
He's your hero.
He's my hero.
And he's been there throughout this process at your side.
He's probably struggled with it more than myself.
Why?
I'm his son.
I'm his son.
Does he really want you to do this fight?
Of course.
100 million percent.
100 million percent.
And I wish my dad done more than grab you by the throat the other day.
His father's upset more than him because he's destroyed his father's legacy.
Mate, you can't even get on with it, dad.
Talk about destroying your father's legacy.
Against the Bengali.
Talk about destroy your father's legacy.
That is actually.
Let me ask you, Chris, because they have a very good relationship, Connor and his dad.
You do not currently have a relationship at all, as far as I'm aware, with your father.
What's going on there?
What's going on there is life is going on.
Sometimes fathers and sons, they don't see eye to eye.
They don't get along.
They fall out.
You know, it's unfortunate what is happening at this stage in my life with him.
Do you talk at all?
No, we don't.
How long has it been like that?
Years.
How long since you last talked to him?
It's been a long time.
Give me a time scale.
I said years.
Yeah, but I'm only curious because there's been so much written about this and speculated and rumored and everything else.
I prefer to deal in talking to people at the center of all this speculation and getting the truth to end the speculation.
I don't think it's an unreasonable thing, given you're a Ben Eubank rematch about to happen in a ring, to ask you about this.
I hope you don't.
But I think people will be curious how long you've been estranged from your dad.
I mean, I've said it twice now.
I don't know what more you were saying.
Well, you said years, but that could be two years or ten years.
A couple of years.
A couple of years, okay.
And what effect has that had on you?
I have upheld the family name.
I've never cut corners.
I've done my job.
I've dedicated my life to this sport.
The Eubank name is still at the top.
It's still relevant.
It's still respected.
You know, the worst thing Connor's done is put question marks on.
I'm going to come to it.
No, no, no.
Let me talk.
Let me talk.
He's put question marks against the Ben name because, as they say, like father, like son.
So if he's capable of cheating, did his father cheat?
He's shown more integrity and resilience.
That's the question that now arises.
That's now the question that arises.
When you have done your whole career, you're choosing to fight a world away.
I don't believe his father didn't know what he was doing.
I just don't believe.
As I said, cleared free.
So that means that Nigel Ben could have been capable of doing the same thing in his career.
You don't know that.
No, I don't.
But that's the questions that have now arisen.
Okay, but before we get to questions like that that may or may not have arisen, and they've arisen because you've been putting them out there.
But just on the relationship with your dad, what was the catalyst for you getting fractured as a father and son?
It got to a stage where I needed to step out of the shadow completely.
It's a big shadow.
It is.
He's also in a big shadow.
You both are.
Mine's a blessing, no.
Mine was a blessing too.
But it got to a stage where I realized 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 and kind of, you know, jump in and sink or swim.
My old man was always next to me.
And it got to a stage where I decided that I needed to walk my own path.
He was not happy with that decision.
That's the start of it.
Then you have the situation with my brother passing away.
That affected him in a deep way.
It affected all of us.
I talked to him around that time and I could tell he was profoundly impacted by that.
That's right.
Mental health is a real thing.
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 seemed to have recovered, unfortunately.
Have you made any attempt to get back together with him?
Of course.
Of course.
Has he rebuffed that?
No.
No, he hasn't.
So what's stopping him, would you say?
What's stopping what?
What's stopping you getting back to talking again?
He needs to be able to get over whatever demons he's fighting.
Now, this fight, it's either going to enable him to get over those demons, or unfortunately, it's going to make those demons grow.
I don't know.
I still hope he's there on the night, just like his old man will be.
Do you think he will be?
I honestly don't know.
You know, I hope and I pray that he is.
And I will do things to try and get him there.
But if he isn't, guess what?
I'm still going to go out there and do the job.
But it's, you know, when I talk to you, we don't really know each other, but when I talk to you, I know your dad well and have done for many decades.
You're very like him.
You talk like him, you look like him.
You have the same kind of life views, I think.
It must be a very sad thing in your life that you're estranged.
Boxing teaches you discipline.
It teaches you mental stability.
It teaches you how to deal with impossible odds.
My father not being a part of my life anymore.
It's sad, it's horrible, it's whatever you want to call it.
But I understand that, guess what?
There are people in this world, billions of people, that are going through things ten times worse.
So I have no right to sit here and complain and feel sorry for myself.
If he's watching this, what would you say to him?
I'm here.
I'm getting ready for the biggest fight of my life.
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.
Do you love him, your dad?
He's my old man.
It doesn't matter if I don't talk to him until the day I die.
I'm always going to love him.
He taught me everything.
He's indicated this fight means a lot to him, that you need to win.
When did he indicate that?
This is what we've been told.
Okay.
I haven't, like I said, I haven't heard from him.
I haven't heard any indications from him.
As far as I know, he doesn't want this fight to go ahead.
Do you feel that responsibility to win it for the Eubank name, given to Ben your vitamin?
We are both in the same boat.
We both have to go forward and uphold the family name.
The first fight, that was what it was all about.
Now there's a lot more involved.
Now there's a lot more at stake.
Now it is personal between me.
Well, the stakes have been raised, Connor, because I wanted to explore Chris's relationship with his father, because it's obviously significant that your dad's going to be right with you and is.
And at the moment, his father is not.
And I hope he is there, Chris Sr., on your big night.
It would be an extraordinary spectacle if both fathers are there to watch their sons fight.
But there's no doubt the ante has been ratcheted up between you two from not just being Ben V. You bank, a generational thing, but also since the last fight got cancelled at the last minute because you'd failed the drugs test at the time.
And the way that he's reacted to that and repeatedly called you a cheat, said he doesn't believe the results, exonerates you, inferred, as we've heard again tonight, slurs against your father by association saying, A, he must have known that you were doing this deliberately.
And secondly, that that, in his opinion, means that maybe your father also did that deliberately, for which there's no evidence.
But that's taken things up a lot, hasn't it?
Not really.
I thought he was an idiot then.
I think he's an idiot now.
The facts are the facts.
Irrelevant of what he believes, he's an idiot.
The facts are the facts.
That don't change.
But are you aware of the legacy on your shoulders when you get in that ring?
Yeah, but my dad loves me regardless.
My dad's proud of me regardless.
The relationship I have with my dad is beyond boxing.
It's funny because my dad ain't really...
My dad doesn't really care about what I do in my career.
My dad cares more about me as a man and about my happiness and about the direction I'm heading.
Boxing's a now thing.
You know, my dad's my hero and I'm my dad's hero.
And it's sad to see, to be honest, because we are where we are, whether we like it or not, because of our dads.
That's true.
They laid the foundations.
Yeah, we have to work hard.
Yeah, we have to go through adversity.
Yeah, we have to go through Nepo kids.
But ultimately, this is the blessings of our dads.
They laid the foundation for us.
So it's sad to see that the relationship ain't working on their end, genuinely.
And I mean that.
It's sad to see.
I'm not saying that in.
I'm not saying that being funny.
You know, because the relationship I have with my dad, it would be great to see you and your dad in your corner.
I mean that.
No sarcasm, it's hard to believe.
I've got to be careful.
I don't want you to draw me into something.
No, listen, I'm just...
He's being sarcastic.
I'm just because you haven't heard the things he said leading up to this interview.
About you.
Yeah.
About you.
About people think you're an idiot.
About our relationship.
Questionable Intentions and Rumors 00:13:16
My father's like.
Yeah, your dad don't like you.
Yes, I agree.
They don't like you.
I can't agree.
It's a matter of fact.
That's a fact.
Him talking about MIT.
It's a fact.
I take everything you're saying with a grain of salt.
I can't help it.
Okay, well, it's a matter of fact your dad don't like it.
Why is he beer?
It's not really, it's not me just saying that or speculating that.
It's the truth.
But you don't know what the truth is.
Okay, okay.
You think you know?
I mean, you don't know what the truth is.
You think you know.
It's all right back at you.
But what I'm trying to say to you is it would be nice to see your dad there in your corner.
I'm fine that.
Because at the present moment, he thinks I knock you out.
Again, a matter of fact.
I'm not saying that being funny.
That's what your dad believes.
It's out there.
But I genuinely, it's not, again, you may think I'm being sarcastic.
We are where we are because of our dads.
Yeah.
They've laid the foundation.
We are like our dads.
We are the double and carbon copy of our dads.
So it'd be great to see your dad in your corner and you mend that relationship.
And whatever has come in between you guys, it'd be great to see.
And I mean that.
That's coming from my heart.
I'm not being sarcastic.
I say what I say and I say it and I mean what I say.
Connor, like I said, I was ringside when your dad fought Jerry McClellan.
And there was an interview, very powerful interview recently in the Daily Mail with Jerry McClellan, who is now cared for by his sister and basically doesn't leave his wheelchair and hasn't done since that fight.
And I remember Frank Warren, who was the promoter that night, coming up to me, I was editor of a newspaper at the time, and he said to me, Go back to your newspaper because both fighters are going to hospital and we could lose one or both of them tonight.
And it really brought home to me the brutality of this sport.
I think it's a magnificently noble sport.
I think the courage that both you guys and all the boxers show, I've got to know a lot of boxers, and I find all of them heroic people in terms of the courage it takes to get in that ring.
But there's also a real danger once you get in that ring.
And when the hatred is at the level that you two have, you know, I remember it with Ben, your dad, and McClellan.
It was real.
And when they went at each other, to be ringside, to see the power they hit each other, the ferocity, it just felt animalistic in there.
Do you fear that could happen again here?
No, not at all.
It's not my intentions, and I assume that's not Chris's intentions.
Ultimately, I don't like the man and I don't have to like him.
Every single person I fight, I hit with bad intentions.
It's the name of the game.
We know what we're in for.
We know what we've signed up for.
Our life's always on the line.
That's our choice.
You know, ultimately, we prepare extremely hard.
We're elite athletes.
We do the best we can.
But the end goal is to never ruin someone's life.
Our goal is to go in there and beat the other man.
Do you feel the same way, Chris?
If you're honest?
Honestly, honestly, I'm shocked he's speaking like this.
It doesn't match the energy that I've been seeing over the last few days.
And, you know, I don't like it.
You know, it's true.
What he's saying is true.
But, you know, this is not as a fighter supposed to be the mentality going into a fight.
What's your, what's your mentality?
My mentality is search and destroy.
You know, I've been in fights where I have hospitalized people.
Nick Blackwell, you know, he died on the way to hospital when we fought.
He was revived with an adrenaline shot to his heart.
Now he doesn't walk, or he, you know, he doesn't speak well.
And, you know, he's been severely affected by the fight that we had.
Going through something like that, it makes it real.
And it makes it turned me cold because I knew that this is possible.
This isn't a movie, this isn't a video game.
This happened.
And it could happen again.
It could happen to me if I don't dedicate myself.
So I'm extremely passionate when it comes to that.
So you can understand my disgust and my upset obsession with the fact that Connor got popped because, you know, performance announcing drugs increase the chances of tragedies like this happening, which is why I just I can never forgive him.
Can never forgive him.
So when you get in that ring, are you just going to be as ferocious as you can possibly be?
Is that the natural instinct that you feel?
Absolutely.
And it's the same for him.
He's talking it down a little bit right now, but the truth of the matter is...
There you go.
I want you to get up.
I want you to wake up.
That's what we're doing.
That's what I want to hear.
Yes, I do want you to wake up.
I'm still going to flatten you.
Good.
Period.
So let's not.
I'm not trying to downplay it.
And that's the main thing.
He's asking about my intentions.
Yes, I want you to get back up.
Yes, I want you to carry on living your life.
But I will splatter your head all over the canvas.
That's good.
Yes, that's still going to be a matter of fact coming into the middle of the moment.
I need to hear that.
I don't want all this soppy bullshit that you guys are trying to get into right now.
Ain't no soppy nothing.
No, well, Pierce is soppy when you're not.
Peers is canceling.
Putting this interview into a direction, which I don't want to interrupt.
Why do you think that and what direction do you think I'm taking it?
You know exactly what you're doing, Piers.
You're very good at what you do, but I'm not falling into the trap.
What do you think the trap is?
Genuinely curious.
I don't want this to be, you know, you're not getting any emotions out of me.
You think you're being smart, but you're not being an idiot.
I'm not being smart.
You think you're being smart.
Piers is being smart.
No, no, you're not.
You're being dumb.
He got you.
He's still going to flatten you.
He got you.
Do I want you to get back up, Chris?
He got you.
Do I want you to amend your relationship with your dad?
Piers is going to be a lot of people.
The public do.
Most of the public do.
Is your dad in my corner come fight like?
Yes, he is, but yes, I would love to see you guys amend your relationship.
It is sad to see, and life is too short.
I don't want to hear about it.
Life is too short.
It's going to be sad when you're asked when you ask his handy to come April 26.
Hopefully that'll mend your relationship.
We're going to hurt each other in front of millions of people.
That is the bottom line.
McConnell, for me, it's interesting because many would think you're taking a bit of a gamble here because you're going up quite a lot in your normal weight.
He's seven years older and therefore much more experienced than you are.
Physically, he seems bigger than you as you sit here together.
You're exuding a lot of confidence about this, but do none of those things concern you?
Not really, no, because he's just a man.
I don't look at him as he's a man.
I'm not scared of no man.
I look at him and he's just been flattened.
So why did you try and enforce this rehydration corner?
You've just been flattened by a line.
I ain't talking to you.
You've just been flattened by a light middleway.
You think I'm in the slightest concerned?
I will absolutely iron you out.
I am going to come in there and stick it on you from the get-go.
Good.
Straight away.
I'm going to come out of there hot skipping a big right hand, a big flipping head of yours.
I don't believe you.
You don't believe me?
Would you believe then?
I don't believe you.
Would you believe it?
I think you're going to run for your life.
Oh, shut up.
Talk shit.
You're going to run for me.
You talk rubbish.
You're delusional.
That's what I think.
You're delusional.
You're delusional.
I'm going to come out of there and stick it straight on you.
Who's the one who asked for an 18-foot ring?
And you're mumbling and going, I want a 22.
I'm the one who asked for the 18-foot ring.
And you know why I said I don't want it?
Yeah, exactly.
Don't be curious.
Whatever your excuse is.
I've asked you.
He asked for an 18-foot ring, and that was something that he couldn't.
No free knockdown rule when the corner can't save you.
That's what he's asking.
I don't want anything else for the 18-foot foot ring.
You can have the ring walk second.
You can have the home corner.
I will name it.
I will have all of that.
Have all of that.
I don't care about all the fans you sell.
Just give me an 18-foot ring.
Corner can't save you and no free knockdown rule.
That's all I've asked for.
And guess what?
I know.
That's all you've asked for.
And guess what?
You're not even getting that.
Let me ask you both.
I don't care about what size the ring is.
Well, I am getting that.
I don't care about what size of the actual chip.
I don't think it makes any difference at all to the outcome of the fight.
Check your contract.
But just because you want it.
Check your contract.
It's not going to help you.
Oh, really?
I'm going to give you an inch.
Check your contract.
Not a millimeter, I'm giving you.
You don't deserve it.
You don't have to do it.
Let me ask you both about the Netbo Baby allegations, right?
Which is that you're only getting these chances because of who your fathers were.
And secondly, something Cristiano Ronaldo told me, which stuck with me, that his son's, oldest boy, is a very good football player.
He's always going to have to live with being Cristiano Ronaldo's son.
And that the one thing Cristiano can't give him, give him all the best training, the best diet, everything, the best advice you can possibly give him.
What he can't give him is the hunger that he had when he was that age because he was genuinely hungry.
His family had no money.
He couldn't afford to eat a lot of the time.
When he went to the Sportingism Academy, he used to queue behind the back of a McDonald's.
And two kindly ladies used to give him free burgers.
Otherwise, he'd be hungry.
And he said, I can't give him that hunger.
Do you guys, you both grew up in wealthy environments when your father's made millions.
So you lived in comparative luxury to the life that they led when they were young.
Can you get the same hunger?
When I watched them fight each other and other people, the hunger was visceral.
It was so tangible.
They were both natural warriors.
Can you have the same thing if you've been brought up in a much more privileged background, do you think?
I do.
I think it doesn't matter what sphere or life you come from, ambition is priceless.
You know, that hunger is there.
You're born with it.
I don't think it's anything you can just pick up along the way.
You think, I wake myself up at 5 a.m. every morning, trying religiously work epics unmatched to prove to myself how much I want it.
You know, so it doesn't matter what your background is, I ain't got it out of the mud.
I don't come from the rags to riches story.
So you're telling me just because you have an advantage in life, because your dad works so hard that I can't achieve anything on myself, I'm still going to raise my son with the same principles, morals, and foundations that my dad raised me.
It's everyone's, it's everyone's, every parent's, every dad's job to give their son a better life.
Is it not?
Is that not why we do what we do?
It's why I do what I do.
I want my son to have the best life he possibly can.
That responsibility falls on me to give him the best life I possibly can.
Just for then some people to tell him that he can't achieve the same thing, or he can't achieve greatness, or he can't achieve whatever it is he wants to achieve.
You can do anything you want to do as long as you believe in yourself.
Chris, do you have, do you think, the same burning hunger your father had?
I've had 37 fights in my career, so my hunger cannot be questioned.
You know, yes, in the early stages of my career or my life, I lived in the mansion, we had the nice cars, I went to private school, so I experienced that life.
Then, as so many fighters unfortunately do, my father lost everything.
He went bankrupt, and our lives changed.
I was introduced to, you know, the working-class lifestyle.
How old were you then?
I don't know, maybe 14, 14, 15.
Which is a very difficult age to suddenly see such a dramatic change in lifestyle.
For sure.
You know, I went from living in a mansion to living above a nursery, you know, in a studio.
So for me, You know, even though it was a horrible time in my life, my parents got divorced, I actually am grateful that this happened because it took me out of that comfort zone and it made me forced me to figure out how to get back there.
The Cost of Winning Back 00:06:40
I want to get back to the nice car and the nice house and eating whenever I want to eat and not having to go down to Tesco's and you know, spend a certain amount of money.
I can only spend a certain amount of each week on food.
I want to get out of this position I'm in.
How do I get back to where I was?
Okay, I've got to get my ass in that gym and graft and work and suffer and win.
And that's what I did.
You're both in the business of professional violence.
You know, many people have a problem with boxing just on principle that people shouldn't earn a living from punching each other in the head.
What do you say to people that feel that way about what you do?
A lot of people are going to have opinions about everything.
I mean, boxing is the crisis of combat sports, in my opinion.
It's a great sport and it does a lot more good than it does bad.
You feel the same?
It teaches you discipline.
You know, the kids that are running around on the street, stabbing and robbing and joining gangs.
Boxing is one of those sports where it can channel that energy and it can take youngsters away from those environments, teach them discipline, teach them respect.
Once you know how to fight, you actually don't want to hurt people.
As crazy as that sounds, it's the people who don't know how to fight, which are out there trying to be the tough guys.
So I think boxing.
But he knows how to fight.
You know how to fight, but you want to hurt him.
Well, that's because we are going to be getting into a ring in a few months' time.
You know, if he wasn't a fighter and I wasn't a fighter, I wouldn't have any animosity towards him just because our fathers fought all those years ago.
But they did fight.
But we did both enter into the game of boxing.
And he did get caught with performance and answering drugs.
All those things have created an extreme dislike between us.
I'm not going to say hate because it's too strong of a word.
I mean, at the first press conference, you pulled the stump of the egg and you smashed it around his face.
Some people laughed, others thought it was all good, part of the sporting thing.
Other people thought it was quite a demeaning moment to reduce it to whacking your opponent with an egg.
I mean, on reflection, are you pleased you did that, or do you think that it was a bit childish?
On reflection, I wish I had an egg in both hands.
That's the truth of it.
The egg.
I'm going to get the second one off.
Oh, absolutely.
The egg was a symbol.
Oh, sharp.
It was a statement.
What was the statement?
That if you cheat, you will be punished.
You will be embarrassed.
You will be exposed.
Cleared.
Cleared.
Free time.
Cleared by people I don't know and don't care about.
You're the one who's an idiot.
Connor, how does it make you feel when he repeatedly calls you with?
That's his job.
Because if I was him, I'd probably do the same.
So I get it.
Get it.
He's trying to get in your head.
He's trying to disregard it.
He's still going to get ironed out and flattened April 26th.
It really don't make no difference.
Say what you want.
The reality is, the facts are.
It's talk factual.
Not opinion.
I don't like the conclusion.
The facts are I've been cleared three times by people whose IQ is a lot smarter than him.
He's got the IQ of a five-year-old child.
So I'm not going to listen to him.
That's shit.
If you feel that way, that's great.
I do not need anything to splatter your head on the canvas.
I do not need anything at all.
It's not from regardless.
April 26th.
You're going to need to.
And you've got April 26th.
Chris said about you.
I've got to get into the canvas.
Connor said about you that you've underachieved in your career.
Oh, massively.
And you're still not out of your dad's shadow.
And it is important to note, you fought three times since the cancellation of that first fight, and you were knocked out by Liam Smith in January 23.
You then avenge that loss by stopping him in the rematch.
But to be knocked out by someone like Liam Smith since you were supposed to get in the ring together, does that give you concern when you get in the ring with him?
You know, knocked out is a very strong word.
The fight finished with me on my feet begging the referee to let me continue.
To me, knocked out means you're on the floor unconscious, like he says he's going to do.
So you were stopped.
I was stopped by the referee.
You can't swim without getting wet.
If you fight enough, if you put yourself in these environments enough times, eventually there's going to be a little slip up.
You're going to get caught.
And when he says you're an underachiever, what do you feel about that?
I don't feel anything.
I mean, I have proven my worth in this sport.
You know, I have paid my dues.
I've dedicated my life.
And I never cut any corners doing it.
So regardless of what people may think or my ability or what I've achieved, I'm clean.
I'm true.
I put everything into every fight I have.
And so I sleep well at night.
And let me tell you something.
This kid does not.
He has nightmares.
I slept like a baby.
First day we faced off.
I had a big warmth in my heart, knowing that in just under eight weeks, I am going to render you unconscious.
I slept so good that night.
Genuinely.
I slept like a baby.
You didn't get it.
I slept so good.
You didn't get it.
I slept so good.
Do you know what?
As a matter of fact, I'm going to post my whoop on that night on that date.
Slept like an absolute baby, knowing that I'm going to render him unconscious April 26th.
Sleep Like a Baby Before the Fight 00:03:02
The angriest I've seen you actually was when your dad intervened with the egg throwing and put his arm, I think, down your throat.
And at the second press conference, you basically threatened Nigel Benn.
Said if he did that again, you'd deal with him.
It wasn't a threat, it was a promise.
Oh, it's not a promise, is it?
You can't touch gunbag.
You can't.
Oh, we did.
So you can throw an egg in his face and it's part of the garbage.
You're just upset.
Me and you are fighting.
I can't stand you.
I'm not having my bag.
You are.
That's all I'm saying.
I'm not upset.
My dad put it up.
Me and you are fighting.
Whatever happens between us.
My dad will put his arms around.
What are you going to do about it?
No one else.
What are you going to do about it?
Tell me.
No one else can touch you.
Tell me.
Tell me.
If they do, there'll be consequences.
Consequences to what?
If anyone else slaps you right now.
If anyone else touches me.
Well, if I was to slap you right now, what are you going to do about it?
Yeah, go on.
Go ahead.
Yeah, yeah, talk about my dad.
I'm not talking about it.
Talk about your dad.
No, no, no.
I'm talking about you, but yeah, yeah, but I told you.
My old man would never touch you, so your old man's never going to touch you.
You put your hands on me twice since my last fight.
When?
When?
Pushed me.
It doesn't matter.
Put your hands on me.
Little push and shove.
Stop moving.
Don't put your hands on me.
Stop moaning about it.
A little push and shove.
Stop moaning about it.
Talk about my dad.
You put your hands on me.
I put my hands on me.
I never disrespect your dad.
Yes, you would.
You disrespected him before.
The fact that he don't like you is a matter of fact.
Okay, well, it's a matter of fact.
That's additional.
It's hard to give it and not take it.
You fucked up by talking about my dad.
You don't fucked up talking about me.
You fucked up touching me.
You fucked up by taking it.
Yeah, That's right.
Hey, Mike Baker here, host of the President's Daily Brief podcast.
If you want straight talk on national security, foreign policy, and the biggest global stories going on of the day, this is the show for you.
We publish twice a day, Monday through Friday, once in the morning, again in the afternoon.
And on the weekend, we go longer with the PDB Situation Report with excellent guests, including national security insiders and foreign policy experts.
Check us out on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.
Also, on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief.
Hey, I'm Caitlin Becker, the host of the New York Postcast, and I've got exactly what you need to start your weekdays.
Every morning, I'll bring you the stories that matter, plus the news people actually talk about.
The juicy details in the worlds of politics, business, pop culture, and everything in between.
It's what you want from the New York Post wrapped up in one snappy show.
Ask your smart speaker to play the NY Postcast podcast.
Listen and subscribe on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I have upheld the family name.
I've never cut corners.
I've done my job.
I've dedicated my life to this sport.
The Eubank name is still at the top.
It's still relevant.
It's still respected.
You know, the worst thing Connor's done is put question marks on.
I'm going to come to it.
Protecting the Eubank Name 00:14:44
Let me talk.
Let me talk.
He's put question marks against the Ben name because, as they say, like father, like son.
So if he's capable of cheating, did his father cheat?
You've shown more integrity and resilience than that.
That's the question that now arises.
That's now the question that arises.
And you have done your whole career.
You're choosing to fight a world away.
I don't believe his father didn't know what he was doing.
I just don't believe.
As I said, cleared free.
Nigel Ben could have been capable of doing the same thing in his career.
You don't know that.
No, I don't.
But that's the questions that have now arisen.
Because I'm like, you're an idiot.
But before we get to questions like that, that may or may not have arisen.
And they've arisen because you've been putting them out there.
But just on the relationship with your dad, what was the catalyst for you getting fractured as a father and son?
It got to a stage where I needed to step out of the shadow completely.
It's a big shadow.
It is.
He's also in a big shadow.
You both are.
Mine's a blessing, though.
Mine was a blessing too.
But it got to a stage where I realized 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 and kind of, you know, jump in and sink or swim.
My old man was always next to me.
And it got to a stage where I decided that I needed to walk my own path.
He was not happy with that decision.
That's the start of it.
Then you have the situation with my brother passing away.
That affected him in a deep way, affected all of us.
I talked to him around that time and I could tell he was profoundly impacted by that.
That's right.
Mental health is a real thing.
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 seemed to have recovered, unfortunately.
Have you made any attempt to get back together with him?
Of course.
Of course.
Has he rebuffed that?
No.
No, he hasn't.
So what was stopping him, would you say?
What's stopping what?
What's stopping you getting back to talking again?
He needs to be able to get over whatever demons he's fighting.
Now, this fight, it's either going to enable him to get over those demons, or unfortunately, it's going to make those demons grow.
I don't know.
I still hope he's there on the night, just like his old man will be.
Do you think he will be?
I honestly don't know.
You know, I hope and I pray that he is.
And I will do things to try and get him there.
But if he isn't, guess what?
I'm still going to go out there and do the job.
But when I talk to you, we don't really know each other, but when I talk to you, I know your dad well, and have done for many decades.
You're very like him.
You talk like him, you look like him.
You have the same kind of life views, I think.
It must be a very sad thing in your life that you're estranged.
Boxing teaches you discipline.
It teaches you mental stability.
It teaches you how to deal with impossible odds.
My father not being a part of my life anymore.
It's sad, it's horrible, it's whatever you want to call it.
But I understand that, guess what?
There are people in this world, billions of people, that are going through things ten times worse.
So I have no right to sit here and complain and feel sorry for myself.
If he's watching this, what would you say to him?
I'm here.
I'm getting ready for the biggest fight of my life.
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.
Do you love him, your dad?
He's my old man.
It doesn't matter if I don't talk to him until the day I die.
I'm always going to love him.
He taught me everything.
He's indicated this fight means a lot to him, that you need to win.
When did he indicate that?
This is what we've been told.
Okay.
I haven't, like I said, I haven't heard from him.
I haven't heard any indications from him.
As far as I know, he doesn't want this fight to go ahead.
Still do you feel that responsibility to win it for the Eubank name, given it's a Ben your fight?
We are both in the same boat.
We both have to go forward and uphold the family name.
The first fight, that was what it was all about.
Now there's a lot more involved.
Now there's a lot more at stake.
Now it is personal between me.
Well the stakes have been raised, Connor, because I wanted to explore Chris's relationship with his father because it's obviously significant that your dad's going to be right with you and is.
And at the moment, his father is not.
And I hope he is there, Chris Senior, on your big night.
It would be an extraordinary spectacle if both fathers are there to watch their sons fight.
But there's no doubt the ante has been ratcheted up between you two from not just being Ben V. You bank, a generational thing, but also since the last fight got cancelled at the last minute because you'd failed the drugs tests at the time.
And the way that he's reacted to that and repeatedly called you a cheat, said he doesn't believe the results, exonerates you, inferred, as we've heard again tonight, slurs against your father by association saying he must have known that you were doing this deliberately.
And secondly, that that, in his opinion, means that maybe your father also did that deliberately, for which there's no evidence.
But that's taken things up a lot, hasn't it?
Not really.
I thought he was an idiot then.
I think he's an idiot now.
The facts are the facts.
Irrelevant of what he believes, he's an idiot.
The facts are the facts.
That don't change.
But are you aware of the legacy on your shoulders when you get in that ring?
Yeah, but my dad loves me regardless.
My dad's proud of me regardless.
The relationship I have with my dad is beyond boxing.
It's funny because my dad ain't really...
My dad doesn't really care about what I do in my career.
My dad cares more about me as a man and about my happiness and about the direction I'm heading.
Boxing's a now thing.
You know, my dad's my hero and I'm my dad's hero.
And it's sad to see, to be honest, because we are where we are, whether we like it or not, because of our dads.
That's true.
They laid the foundations.
Yeah, we have to work hard.
Yeah, we have to go through adversity.
Yeah, we have to go through Nepo kids.
But ultimately, this is the blessings of our dads.
They laid the foundation for us.
So it's sad to see that the relationship ain't working on their end, genuinely, and I mean that.
It's sad to see.
I'm not saying that in...
I'm not saying they're being funny.
You know, because the relationship I have with my dad, it would be great to see you and your dad in your corner.
I mean that.
No sarcasm.
It's hard to believe.
No, no, I mean, well.
I've got to be careful.
I don't want you to mean something here.
No, listen, I'm just saying.
He's being sarcastic.
I'm being listened because you haven't heard the things he said leading up to this interview.
About you.
Yeah.
About you.
I think you're an idiot.
About our relationship.
My and my father's relationship.
Yeah, your dad don't like you.
Yes, I agree.
They don't like you.
I can't.
It's a matter of fact.
That's a fact.
Him talking about him like that.
It's a fact.
I take everything you're saying with a grain of salt.
I can't help it.
Okay, well, it's a matter of fact your dad don't like it, why is he beer?
It's not really, it's not me just saying that or speculating that.
It's the truth.
But you don't know what the truth is.
Okay, okay.
You think you know that you don't know what the truth is.
You think you know.
So right back at you.
But what I'm trying to say to you is it would be nice to see your dad there in your corner.
I'm fine that, because at the present moment, he thinks I knock you out.
Again, a matter of fact.
I'm not saying that being funny, that's what your dad believes.
It's out there.
But I genuinely, it's not, again, you may think I'm being sarcastic.
We are where we are because of our dads.
They've laid the foundation.
We are like our dads.
The double and carbon copy of our dads.
It's not, it's so it'd be great to see your dad in your corner and you mend our relationship.
And whatever has come in between you guys, it'd be great to see.
And I mean that, that's coming from my heart.
I'm not being sarcastic.
I say what I say and I say it and I mean what I say.
Connor, like I said, I was ringside when your dad fought Jerry McClellan.
And there was an interview, very powerful interview recently in the Daily Mail with Jerome McClellan, who is now cared for by his sister and basically doesn't leave his wheelchair and hasn't done since that fight.
And I remember Frank Warren, who was the promoter that night, saying coming up to me, I was editor of a newspaper at the time, and he said to me, Go back to your newspaper because both fighters are going to hospital and we could lose one or both of them tonight.
And it really brought home to me the brutality of this sport.
I think it's a magnificently noble sport.
I think the courage that both you guys and all the boxers show got to know a lot of boxers.
And I'd find all of them heroic people in terms of the courage it takes to get in that ring.
But there's also a real danger once you get in that ring.
And when the hatred is at the level that you two have, you know, I remember it with Ben, your dad, and McClellan.
It was real.
And when they went at each other, to be ringside, to see the power they hit each other, the ferocity, it just felt animalistic in there.
Do you fear that could happen again here?
No, not at all.
It's not my intentions, and I assume that's not Chris's intentions.
Ultimately, I don't like the man and I don't have to like him.
Every single person I fight, I hit with bad intentions.
It's the name of the game.
We know what we're in for.
We know what we've signed up for.
Our life's always on the line.
That's our choice.
You know, ultimately, we prepare extremely hard.
We're elite athletes.
We do the best we can.
But the end goal is to never ruin someone's life.
Our goal is to go in there and beat the other man.
Do you feel the same way, Chris?
If you're honest?
Honestly, honestly, I'm shocked he's speaking like this.
It doesn't match the energy that I've been seeing over the last few days.
And, you know, I don't like it.
You know, it's true.
What he's saying is true.
But, you know, this is not as a fighter supposed to be the mentality going into a fight.
What's your mentality?
My mentality is search and destroy.
You know, I've been in fights where I have hospitalized people.
Nick Blackwell, you know, he died on the way to hospital when we fought.
He was revived with an adrenaline shot to his heart.
Now he doesn't walk or he, you know, he doesn't, he doesn't speak well.
And, you know, he's been severely affected by the fight that we had.
Going through something like that, it makes it real.
And it makes it turned me cold because I knew that this is possible.
This isn't a movie.
This isn't a video game.
This happened.
And it could happen again.
It could happen to me if I don't dedicate myself.
So I'm extremely passionate when it comes to that.
So you can understand my disgust and my Upset obsession with the fact that Connor got got popped because, you know, performance enhancing drugs increase the chances of tragedies like this happening, Which is why I just I can never forgive him, Can never forgive him.
So when you get in that ring, Are you just gonna be as ferocious as you can possibly be?
Is that the natural instinct that you feel?
Absolutely, and it's the same for him.
He's he's, you know, he's.
He's talking it down a little bit right now, but the truth of the matter is still going to render you unconscious.
There you go.
I want you to get up.
That's I want you to wake up.
That's what we're doing.
That's what I want to hear.
Yes, I do want you to wake up.
I'm still going to flatten you.
Good.
Period.
So let's not.
I'm not trying to downplay it.
And that's the main thing.
He's asking about my intentions.
Yes, I want you to get back up.
Yes, I want you to carry on living your life.
But I will splatter your head all over the canvas.
That's good.
Yes, that's still going to be a matter of fact come in.
I need to hear that.
I don't want all this soppy bullshit that you guys are trying to get into right now.
Ferocious Instincts in the Ring 00:06:44
Ain't no soppy nothing.
No, well, Pierce is soppy when you're not.
Piers is counterfeiting.
I'm putting this interview into a direction, which I don't want to say.
I don't want to interact with you.
Why do you think that and what direction do you think I'm taking it?
You know exactly what you're doing, Piers.
You're very good at what you do, but I'm not falling into the trap.
What do you think of the trap?
Genuinely curious.
I don't want this to be, you know, you're not getting any emotions out of me.
You think you're being smart, but you're not being an idiot.
I'm not being smart.
You think you're being smart.
Piers is being smart.
No, no, you're not.
You're being dumb.
He got you.
He got you.
Do I want you to get back up, Chris?
He got you.
Do I want you to amend your relationship with your dad?
Piers is a relationship.
The public do.
Most of the public do.
Is your dad in my corner come fine?
I yes, he is, but yes, I would love to see you guys mend your relationship.
It is sad to see, and life is too short.
I don't want to hear about it.
Life is too short.
It's going to be sad when you're asked.
I'm going to get in there.
When you ask his handy to come April 26th, hopefully that'll mend your relationship.
We're going to hurt each other in front of millions of people.
That is the bottom line.
McConnell, for me, it's interesting because many would think you're taking a bit of a gamble here because you're going up quite a lot in your normal weight.
He's seven years older and therefore much more experienced than you are.
Physically, he seems bigger than you as you sit here together.
You're exuding a lot of confidence about this, but do none of those things concern you?
Not really, no, because he's just a man.
I don't look at him as he's a man.
I'm not scared of no man.
I look at him and he's just been flattened.
So why did you?
Why did you try and enforce this rehydration corner?
Just been flattened by a lamb.
I ain't talking to you.
You've just been flattened by a light middleweight.
You think I'm in the slightest concerned?
I will absolutely iron you out.
I am going to come in there and stick it on you from the get-go.
Good.
Straight away.
I'm going to come out of there hot skipping a big right hand, big flipping head of yours.
I don't believe you.
You don't believe me?
Would you believe then?
I don't believe you.
Would you believe that?
I think you're going to run for your life.
Oh, shut up.
Talk shit.
You're going to run for life.
You talk rubbish.
You're delusional.
That's what I think.
You're delusional.
You're delusional.
I'm going to come out of there and stick it straight on you.
Who's the one who asked for an 18-foot ring?
And you're mumbling and going, I want a 22.
I'm the one who asked for the 18-foot ring.
And you know why I said I don't want it?
Yeah, exactly.
Don't be careful.
Whatever your excuse is.
I've asked you.
He asked for an 18-foot ring, and that was something that he couldn't.
No free knockdown rule when the corner can't save you.
That's what he's asking.
I don't want anything else for you.
You put an 18-foot ring.
You can have the ring walk second.
You can have the home corner.
You can have all of that.
I don't care about all the fans you tell.
Just give me an 18-foot ring.
Corner can't save you and no free knockdown rule.
That's all I've asked for.
Guess what?
I know.
That's all you've asked for.
And guess what?
You're not even getting that.
Let me ask you.
I don't care about like size the ring is.
Well, I'm getting that.
I don't care about it.
I don't think it makes any difference at all to the outcome of the fight.
Check your contract.
But just because you want it.
Check your contract.
It's not going to happen.
Oh, really?
I'm not giving you an inch.
Check your contract.
Not a millimeter I'm giving you.
You don't deserve it.
You don't deserve that contract.
Let me ask you both about the Nepo baby allegations, right?
Which is that you're only getting these chances because of who your fathers were.
And secondly, something that Cristiano Ronaldo told me, which has stuck with me, that his son's, oldest boy's a very good football player, but he's always going to have to live with being Cristiano Ronaldo's son.
And that the one thing Cristiano can't give him, give him all the best training, the best diet, everything, the best advice you can possibly give him.
What he can't give him is the hunger that he had when he was that age because he was genuinely hungry.
His family had no money.
He couldn't afford to eat a lot of the time.
When he went to the Sportingism Academy, he used to queue behind the back of a McDonald's.
And two kindly ladies used to give him free burgers.
Otherwise, he'd be hungry.
And he said, I can't give him that hunger.
Do you guys, you both grew up in wealthy environments and your fathers made millions.
So you lived in comparative luxury to the life that they led when they were young.
Can you get the same hunger?
When I watched them fight each other and other people, the hunger was visceral.
It was so tangible.
They were both natural warriors.
Can you have the same thing if you've been brought up in a much more privileged background, do you think?
I do.
I think it doesn't matter what sphere or life you come from, ambition is priceless.
You know, that hunger's there.
You're born with it.
I don't think it's anything you can just pick up along the way.
You think, like, wait, I wake myself up at 5 a.m. every morning, trying religiously work ethics unmatched to prove to myself how much I want it.
You know, so it doesn't matter what your background is.
I ain't got it out of the mud.
I don't come from the rags to riches story.
So you're telling me just because you have an advantage in life, because your dad works so hard that I can't achieve anything on myself, I'm still going to raise my son with the same principles, morals, and foundations that my dad raised me.
It's everyone's, every parent's, every dad's job to give their son a better life.
Is it not?
Is that not why we do what we do?
That's why I do what I do.
I want my son to have the best life he possibly can.
That responsibility falls on me to give him the best life I possibly can.
Just for then some people to tell him that he can't achieve the same thing, or he can't achieve greatness, or he can't achieve whatever it is he wants to achieve.
You can do anything you want to do as long as you believe in yourself.
Chris, do you have, do you think, the same burning hunger your father had?
I've had 37 fights in my career, so my hunger cannot be questioned.
You know, yes, in the early stages of my career or my life, I lived in the mansion, we had the nice cars, I went to private school, so I experienced that life.
Then, as so many fighters, unfortunately, do, my father lost everything.
He went bankrupt and, you know, our lives changed.
I was introduced to, you know, the working class lifestyle.
How old were you then?
I don't know, maybe 14, 14, 15.
Which is a very difficult age to suddenly see such a dramatic change in lifestyle.
From Mansion to Studio Apartment 00:15:31
For sure.
You know, I went from living in a mansion to Living above a nursery, you know, in a studio.
So for me, you know, even though it was a horrible time in my life, my parents got divorced, I actually am grateful that this happened because it took me out of that comfort zone and it made me it forced me to figure out how to get back there.
I want to get back to the nice car and the nice house and eating whenever I want to eat and not having to go down to Tesco's and, you know, spend a certain amount of money.
I can only spend a certain amount of each week on food.
I want to get out of this position I'm in.
How do I get back to where I was?
Okay, I've got to get my ass in that gym and graft and work and suffer and win.
And that's what I did.
You're both in the business of professional violence.
You know, many people have a problem with boxing just on principle, that people shouldn't earn a living from punching each other on the head.
What do you say to people that feel that way about what you do?
A lot of people are going to have opinions about everything.
I mean, boxing is the classiest of combat sports, in my opinion.
It's a great sport and it does a lot more good than it does bad.
You feel the same?
It teaches you discipline.
You know, the kids that are running around on the street stabbing and robbing and joining gangs.
Boxing is one of those sports where it can channel that energy and it can take youngsters away from those environments, teach them discipline, teach them respect.
Once you know how to fight, you actually don't want to hurt people.
As crazy as that sounds, it's the people who don't know how to fight, which are out there trying to be the tough guys.
So I think boxing.
But he knows how to fight.
You know how to fight, but you want to hurt him.
Well, that's because we are going to be getting into a ring in a few months' time.
You know, if he wasn't a fighter and I wasn't a fighter, I wouldn't have any animosity towards him.
Just because our fathers fought all those years ago, but they did fight.
But we did both enter into the game of boxing.
And he did get caught with performance enhancing drugs.
All those things have created an extreme dislike between us.
I'm not going to say hate because it's too strong of a word.
I mean, at the first press conference, you pulled the stump of the egg and you smashed it around his face.
Some people laughed, others thought it was all good, part of the sporting thing.
Other people thought it was quite a demeaning moment to reduce it to whacking your opponent with an egg.
I mean, on reflection, are you pleased you did that?
Or do you think that it was a bit childish?
On reflection, I wish I had an egg in both hands.
That's the truth of it.
The egg.
I'm going to get the second one off.
Oh, absolutely.
The egg was a symbol.
Oh, sharp.
It was a statement.
What was the statement?
That if you cheat, you will be punished.
You will be embarrassed.
You will be exposed.
Cleared.
Cleared.
Free time.
By people I don't know and don't care about you though.
You're the one who's an idiot.
Connor, how does it make you feel when he repeatedly calls you?
That's his job.
Because if I was him, I'd probably do the same.
So I get it.
Get it.
But he's trying to get in your head.
He's trying to spread it.
He's still going to get ironed out and flattened April 26th.
It really don't make no difference.
Say what you want.
The reality is, the facts are.
It's talk factual.
Not opinion, not, I don't like the conclusion.
The facts are, I've been cleared three times by people whose IQ is a lot smarter than him.
He's got the IQ of a five-year-old child.
So I'm not going to listen to him.
That's shit.
If you feel that way, that's great.
I do not need anything to splatter your head on the canvas.
I do not need anything at all.
It's going to happen regardless.
April 26th.
You're going to need April 26.
Chris said about you on the canvas.
Connor said about you that you've underachieved in your career.
Oh, massively.
And you're still not out of your dad's shadow.
And it is important to note: you fought three times since the cancellation of that first fight, and you were knocked out by Liam Smith in January 23.
You then avenge that loss by stopping him in the rematch.
But to be knocked out by someone like Liam Smith since you were supposed to get in the ring together, does that give you concern when you get in the ring with him?
You know, knocked out is a very strong word.
The fight finished with me on my feet begging the referee to let me continue.
To me, knocked out means you're on the floor unconscious, like he says he's going to do that.
So you were stopped.
I was stopped by the referee.
You can't swim without getting wet.
If you fight enough, if you put yourself in these environments enough times, eventually there's going to be a little slip up.
You're going to get caught.
And when he says you're an underachiever, what do you feel about that?
I don't feel anything.
I mean, I have proven my worth in this sport.
You know, I have paid my dues.
I've dedicated my life.
And I never cut any corners doing it.
So, regardless of what people may think or my ability or what I've achieved, I'm clean.
I'm true.
I put everything into every fight I have.
And so I sleep well at night.
And let me tell you something.
This kid does not.
He has nightmares.
I slept like a baby.
First day we faced off.
I had a bit of a warmth in my heart, knowing that in just under eight weeks, I am going to render you unconscious.
I slept so good that night.
Genuinely.
I slept like a baby.
You didn't get it.
I slept so good.
You didn't get it.
I slept so good.
Do you know what?
As a matter of fact, I'm going to post my whoop on that night on that date.
Slept like an absolute baby, knowing that I'm going to render him unconscious April 26th.
The angriest I've seen you actually was when your dad intervened with the egg throwing and put his arm, I think, in your throat.
And at the second press conference, you basically threatened Nigel Benn.
Said if you did that again, you'd deal with him.
It wasn't a threat, it was a promise.
Oh, it's not a promise, is it?
You can't touch gunbag.
You can't touch it.
But we did.
So you can throw an egg in his face and it's not a good idea.
He's an idiot.
You're just upset.
Me and you are fighting.
I can't stand you.
My dad has my bag.
You are.
That's all I'm saying.
I'm not upset.
My dad put his arms around.
Me and you are fighting.
Whatever happens between us.
My dad will put his arms around me.
Fuck him, what are you going to do about it?
No one else.
I don't want to do about it.
Tell me what you're going to do.
No one else can touch it.
Tell me.
Tell me.
If they do, there'll be consequences.
Consequences to what?
If anyone else slaps you right now.
If anyone slap you right now.
If anyone else touches me.
If I wasn't going to slap you right now, what are you going to do about it?
Yeah, go on, go ahead.
Yeah, yeah, talk about my dad.
I'm not talking about your dad.
No, no, yeah, but you're not.
I told you, my old man would never touch you, so your old man's never going to touch you.
I will never slap you.
I'm going to slap me.
You put your hands on me twice since my last fight.
When?
When?
Pushed me.
It doesn't matter.
You put your hands on me.
Little push and shove.
Stop picking me.
Don't put your hands on me.
Stop moaning about it.
A little push and shove.
Stop moaning about it.
Talk about my dad.
You put your hands on me.
I put my hands on my body.
I'll never disrespect your dad.
Yes, you would.
You disrespected him before.
But the fact that he don't like you, it's a matter of fact.
Okay, well, it's a matter of fact.
You can't give it and not take it.
You fucked up by talking about my dad.
You done fucked up to talk about me.
You fucked up.
You fucked up by taking it.
Yeah, That's right.
What the fuck are you looking at?
You.
Well, come, we can have it outside, no problem.
We can have it outside, no problem.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
Yeah, We can.
We can.
Think I'm mucking around?
Freight, my dad?
You think I'm playing games?
Ever talk to my dad like that?
Ever talk to my dad like that?
Ever talk to him?
Well, don't put your hands on your son.
Listen, this is a fight game.
Do you know what I said?
Oh, it's a fight game.
Then we'll meet outside then.
And we'll have it out then.
Anytime you want.
Me as I'm going to have it out then.
Anytime you want, kid.
Do you think it was disrespectful?
You're fucking extremely disrespectful.
You threaten Nigel Ben in the way you did.
He's only defending his family.
And the son, you may not understand that.
Defending you against running in your family.
Like, my dad don't run in your family.
It could have been glass.
It could have been anything.
It's bullshit.
What do you mean, bullshit?
You shouldn't know in the moment what was going on.
It doesn't matter what he didn't know.
Put your hands on someone's like.
Don't put their hands.
If anyone put their hands on my son, I promise you they won't know.
Nigel couldn't defend his son when he wasn't sure what you were using to attack him.
Listen, he can do whatever he wants, but I had to issue the warning to let him know that they can't happen.
And what would you do if he did that again?
I said he wouldn't get his hand back.
What does that mean?
It means what it means.
Tell me what that means.
I said it.
You wouldn't get his hand back.
What do you do?
Cut it off?
He wouldn't get the hand back.
What does that mean?
I don't need to say anything more.
Chris, come on.
You've got to explain what that means.
You don't have to do anything.
He's being clever again.
You tell the man.
You made the statement hand back.
Why?
I made the statement, and that's it.
What are you going to do to his hand?
I made the statement, and that is it, Piz.
But was it not disrespectful to target his dad?
The guy put his hand on my neck.
Defending his son.
I don't care why.
He put his hands on his neck, Pizza.
There's no reason.
I mean, wouldn't you defend your children if someone did that?
Of course I would.
Of course I would.
But I'm not talking about me.
I'm talking what he did.
And I have to, as a man and as a fighter, react to when people...
Because the angriest I've seen you actually was when he threatened your dad.
I love my dad.
And I got that.
Because I feel the same way about my dad.
If he was to put his hands on my son, I swear to God, he wouldn't be living.
And until you have kids, obviously you don't, because you don't understand.
And your dad obviously never protected you.
That's why you feel the way you feel.
Which is why you obviously feel the way you feel.
No, it's a matter of being able to.
It must be the way it feels the way you feel.
I was never protected.
Yeah, you would probably never, you look like you've never been protected.
You look like you've never been protected.
Maybe that's why I'm the hard bastard I am.
You ain't a hard buster.
You just got banged down, mate, by a light middleweight.
Don't say hard bastards.
You'll find it.
I'll bust who I am.
I'll bust it to who?
You'll find it.
If you was having it now in the cobbles, I guarantee you're the only one making it out.
And I promise you on my life, it ain't you.
Oh, man.
If only you knew, kid.
Knew what?
Knew what?
What happens to both of you if you lose?
Chris, you said ahead of the first scheduled fight that if you lost to Connor, you would retire.
Do you feel the same way now?
Yes.
So you will retire if you lose.
Yes.
You know.
Really?
There is a point in every fighter's life that they will reach when they can't go any further.
If I can't beat Conor Ben now, then I've reached my ceiling.
Which is why this fight is so deathly important to me.
Because I don't want to retire.
I don't want to give up.
I don't want to sail off into the sunset.
I still have things to achieve.
Connor, what do you feel?
You're younger, so...
Yeah, listen, I'm 28.
He's done what he's had to do in his career.
He's finished.
You wouldn't quit if you lost this fight.
No, of course not.
Not that I plan on losing the fight, not that I think I will lose the fight.
The reality is you can lose fights.
I will lose fights in my career.
Not to this man.
What would it mean to lose to him?
Oh, it'd be painful.
What would it mean?
As a Ben to lose to a Eubank, because for viewers who don't remember, you know, your dad fought his dad twice.
The first fight, Chris Eubank Sr. won, and the second one was deemed a draw.
Many felt your father won that second fight, but it was a draw.
So as the school card stands, a Ben has never beaten a Eubank in the ring.
And they never will.
What do you say to that?
It would be extremely painful.
Any loss would you remember I'm undefeated?
He's been beat, flattened, knocked out.
But to lose to a Eubank.
Yeah, I mean, it'd be extremely painful.
Of course it would.
As much as he's a Eubank, it's still a loss, a loss that I will struggle with.
You remember I'm undefeated.
I've not tasted defeat.
His Excellency Turkey Al-Shikh has said that the winner may get a fight, a shot at the title, World Title fight.
It would be the first genuine world title fight for either of you.
It's an amazing potential prize.
Would put you on the precipice of becoming world champion if you won.
What would that mean to you first?
I definitely have ambitions of winning a world title still.
The WBC World Title won the line as either Eubank or the World Title.
I chose to have this fight at 160 and then I will be dropping back down at 147 to capture the WBC World Title.
But this will be my only fight this weight.
And for you, Chris, obviously you're significantly older.
What would it mean to potentially get a world title fight out of this?
I'm a three-time IBO world champion.
Super middleweight and middleweight.
And outside, they were interim.
No, they were full world title belts.
Do you feel that they were as valid as absolutely.
Regardless of what other people say, regardless of how they view those titles, to me, I was a world champion.
I am a world champion.
Do you believe that, Connor?
No, not at all.
It doesn't matter.
He's asking me my opinion.
My opinion is, no.
I got offered to fight for the IBO World Title against Sebastian Formela, who I beat convincingly.
But I chose not to fight for the IBO World Title so I don't lose my ranking in the legitimate other organisations, which is why I'm top five in the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO.
Because I chose not to fight for the IBO World Title just to say I'm IBO World Champion.
The reality is he fought for the IBO in a leisure centre in front of 2,000 people.
I fought for the IBO at the O2 in front of 20,000.
Living Up to Generational Burdens 00:08:41
2,000 people.
Was it Quinlan?
Who was it?
Renault Quinlan?
James the Gale.
No, Renault Quinlan, was it?
Two times.
Was it Renal Quinlan?
Two times.
Was it Renal Quinlan?
One was 13 and two from Australia.
Have you ever fought in front of 20,000 people?
Actually, not a headline, but I have.
But again, what you've done is summed up your whole career.
That's your greatest accomplishments.
I'm still 28.
I've got time.
You ain't.
You're an OAP.
You're an old age pensioner, mate.
You think you've got time?
You've actually caught two months and then it's game over for you.
Again, talking rubbish.
It's been a fascinating interview because it's had very different moments and tones.
There have been times when you've both been very open with me, human, actually, in a way I wasn't expecting.
And then other times, as we've seen, when suddenly it hasn't taken much to get you guys at each other's throats.
There's a lot of simmering anger there between you.
I think partly genuine animosity between the two of you, but also the legacy that you both clearly feel of Ben versus Eubank, carrying that generational burden on your shoulders, living up to your fathers, who were two of the greatest fighters this country's ever produced.
There's a lot going on here.
I can feel it.
There's a lot of complex emotions.
What do you think happens when that bell goes for round one?
You guys are going to see one of the best fights in British boxing history.
That's what I think happens.
Connor?
You get signed out in four rounds.
What do you think happens?
The procedure will be parliamentary.
To quote your father.
Absolutely.
It's interesting that even in that moment you're thinking of him, mimicking the way he talks.
We are our father's sons.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as they say.
And I will uphold the family name.
When we saw your fathers together earlier, they refused to shake hands at the end of being interviewed.
Would you shake hands together now?
Of course I would.
No.
This is not a time to be cordial.
You know, if there's ever a day that he comes clean about what happened and why it happened, why he failed those drugs tests, then we can talk about shaking hands.
Until that time, no respect will be given to this kid.
None.
Even though he's just magnanimous.
That was so hard for me to do, by the way.
Well, I know, it was so hard for me to not slap you across the face when we had that face off.
So hard.
And my mum will be really proud of me because I promised I won't do anything stupid.
And I like to just point out that it was so hard for me to do.
Probably one of the hardest things I've had to do in a lot of time.
That's going to be a lot harder.
It's going to be easy work.
You're easy work.
I'm going to flatten you quicker than Smith.
You can't even shake each other's hands.
I could.
I could shake each other.
I know, you've offered to, but you won't do that.
What would it achieve?
I'm not giving you views.
It doesn't give me any views.
So why are you asking us to do it?
I told you I don't want to do it.
I think that actually it is a noble sport.
And that although you're going to be getting in a ring and pounding each other's heads in, actually, you can also at the same time have a mutual respect for the fact you're both professional boxers and you both know what that entails.
He has no class.
He just slapped me around the head with an egg.
You think he's going to shake my hand?
He has zero class.
I've shaken the hands of pretty much every man I've ever fought.
But if you cheat, that respect goes out the window.
I'm sorry.
Your opinion.
I can't, I can't.
I have to make an example.
You know, there are kids that are going to watch this.
They need to understand if you get caught, cleared, you lose everything.
You lose your respect, you lose your name, you lose your life.
Why don't you accept that he's been cleared by all the other people?
I don't want to.
I'm going to keep going over it, Pierce.
But why don't you accept that?
He got caught with performance and asking questions.
So why fight him?
Why not say I refuse to fight this guy?
Because this fight is...
It's unprecedented.
It's never happened in the history of boxing.
And he's going to fight anyway.
That's what happens.
People fail drugs tests.
Cleared, no banned, cleared, no banner.
No fight.
Oh, of course it matters.
They come back and they continue on their career than you have done.
You don't have to fight.
I don't have to, but.
You've chosen to.
I want to.
So you're fighting, but you won't change it.
He's contradicting.
He's an idiot.
People will think there's a contradiction there.
Good.
That's okay.
I'm an enigma, as they say.
Some people don't understand me.
I'm not here to be understood.
I'm here to set an example and I'm here to get this kid out of boxing.
Connor, I want to just before we finish, I want to play a clip from when we did our first interview in here, which was in March 2023, so nearly two years ago now, in which you were a very different character.
I have to say, I've been very struck by how different you've been today.
But let's just take a look.
Why are you trying to label me a cheat?
You're not suing the labs, right?
Well, there is that talk.
You think I, what, manufacturing, manipulating and concealing evidence?
I've got an independent scientist to local report, and that's what we've seen from one of the best labs, manipulation, manufacturing.
But that wasn't verified by the WBC.
What are the WBC going to come out and say?
That's what I mean.
You've got to go to the governing body that can actually do it's hard because I want this to be done.
I want this to be finished and I want to resume with my career.
You were very defiant there, but you were also, I could tell, you were in the grip of knowing that your whole career may have gone.
And you got very emotional later in that interview.
And today you seem much more collected, much more confident.
You feel like you've got a second chance.
You've been through the process.
They've allowed you to fight again.
Whatever Chris says about constantly calling you a cheat and refusing to believe it, the reality is if they had concluded you cheated, you wouldn't be allowed to have the fight.
That's the reality.
How do you feel you've changed in those two years?
Yeah, I mean, then it was heightened emotions.
I mean, I was a mess.
I was a mess.
Broken.
That's been the hardest fight today, for sure, because it's a fight that I've constantly had to fight in my head every day, every waking hour.
You know, nightmares about it.
It was just, it was a horrific time.
And I feel like I'm through that now.
It's done.
I've done everything in my power I can.
You learn to accept what is.
I bet a million pounds on my innocence.
That's what I've done.
You know, so for me, it was a matter of I've done everything I can.
I've had.
Well, that's an interesting point.
I mean, Chris, what more could he have done?
I mean, be honest with me, what more could he have done than what he did?
What more?
To state your desire to disprove the fact he cheated?
What more could he possibly have done?
What more he could have possibly done is he could have not failed those drugs tests.
It's as simple as that.
If you fail, you're a cheat for the rest of your life.
But that's not always true, is it?
It's true too.
There are a number of sportsmen, male and female, who every year fail drugs tests, but it turns out after they're investigated, it is not proven they did so deliberately, whatever the substance may be, and they're allowed to continue performing.
So it's not true that everyone who fails tests is automatically a cheat.
In my eyes, if you fail, in my eyes, if someone was to have pinned him down and jabbed the syringe into the side of his ass and squeezed it in, if that had happened and I saw it, guess what?
Life After Failing Drug Tests 00:00:49
He's still a cheat.
He shouldn't have let it happen.
It's his responsibility to protect himself at all times.
He didn't do that.
He's a cheat.
End of story.
I'll give you one last chance.
Don't ask me again, Piz.
Just shake his hand.
Don't ask me again.
I tried.
Thank you both for your time.
And may the best man win.
He will.
He will.
It's going to be one hell of a fight.
That I do know.
Thank you very much.
Well, two fighters, two famous families, one remarkable rivalry.
Fatal Fury, City of the Wolves on April 26th.
The Ring Magazine's first ever card.
Don't miss it.
I know I won't be.
Export Selection