Chris Eubank Sr opened up in a brutally honest interview with talkSPORT where he criticised his own son, while revealing Queen Elizabeth II is his hero.
And the 56-year-old also claimed he believes Conor Benn unknowingly consumed drugs, labelling him as ‘innocent’.
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Eubank stressed that he believes Benn’s team should be investigated after the boxer was charged by the UK Anti-Doping agency after testing positive for banned substance clomifene, which caused his fight against Chris Eubank Jr to fall through.
Appearing on White and Jordan, two-weight world champion Eubank Sr didn’t hold back in his view of his son following his defeat against Liam Smith.
The former I’m A Celebrity star hit out at Eubank Jr for not listening to him, failing to prepare for fights correctly and for surrounding himself with the wrong people.
And he then declared that he was inspired to live his life as an English gentleman by following the late Queen Elizabeth II’s principles.
Eubank Sr has never shied away from his love of Britain’s longest serving monarch, where he penned an emotional tribute to The Queen after her death in September.
You can read everything the boxing legend had to say in his candid interview with talkSPORT.
On his pride that his family name is still going strong in the ring with Eubank Jr
“I can’t comment on that. In boxing terms, he lost to a fellow called Mr Smith and that wasn’t on my watch.
“I’m not going to say anything about other than on my watch, you saw performances against [Avni] Yildirim, Nick Blackwell for the British title, electrifying.
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“But since he wrote me that letter that said, ‘I am the boss’, I saw a clip of him saying, ‘my dad’s gone missing.’
“Well I went missing when you said, ‘I’m the boss.'”
On Eubank Jr being surrounded by the wrong people
“In boxing language, you’re only as good as your last fight, and again that [defeat to Smith] wasn’t on my watch.
“He said he is the boss and he got his own trainers in, so he called in Roy Jones and he called in a fellow from [Las] Vegas.
“[Does he agree with Eubank Jr’s decisions?] How could I agree with it when I know the people he is involved with?
“He is surrounded by people who are actually backwards, I go forwards. That’s when I say on my watch, you saw performances like the Yildirim performance, I’m proud of that. That was my watch.
“The fight against Nick Blackwell, you can’t even compare another fighter with that performance, that performance was electrifying.
“I tell you what, this is something you can check out for yourself, what drove him to actually eviscerate Nick like he did, was because of these two fighters – Tyson Fury and this other name of which is quite unspeakable for me [Billy Joe Saunders].
“They were goading, coming into the changing room beforehand and shouting things at ringside to really pump up Nick.
“And all it did, it made Junior bold, but it wasn’t just bold without back-up, he backed it up, I’ve not seen a performance like it.”
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On his hurt by Eubank Jr’s letter telling him he wanted no more support
“No, I am grateful, let me tell you what, I would have had to stay there and suffer the indignity of being around…
“Here’s a person, my son, making me the third man, fourth man… I had to have it, because he is my son, so there’s nothing I can do.
“I can’t get out of it unless you write me a letter and that letter said, ‘now I am the boss, things are done my way,’ which he had actually been doing effectively anyway.
“This is boxing, boxing is not like any other vocation on earth, if you accept it, understand what you are dealing with, you are dealing with people who are using you.
“They’re using your name, they’re speaking for you, they’re putting you in fights. Can you imagine Junior walking around at 171lbs, to get down for 160lbs – it’s fine for a world championship fight.
“But then to boil him down to 157lbs? That is attempted murder. He’s my son, he is my boy, he is my child, he will always be my child.
“Even though he is a man, and I’ve given him his respect, I respect his cojones so much to be able to follow in my footsteps, that is mad.
“But what can I do? I told him not to get involved with boxing, it’s not what you think it’s about.
“When you say let him be his own man, how can I let him be his own man when you can’t be a man in this unless you’ve got someone directing you who has been there, who has felt it, tasted it.
“These physical education teachers haven’t felt it, they don’t know, it’s just money for them.”
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On his opinion Conor Benn is innocent of knowingly consuming drugs
“Conor went onto the Piers Morgan show, that’s walking into the light.
“When you walk into the light, that shows a man to be honest, not dishonest, where was his team? Everyone was hiding, he was the only one that came out to say ‘hold on a minute.’
“And listen to his words, he said, ‘I don’t know what happened.’ When someone is guilty of something, there’s no way they walk into the light and talk about it.
“And the light of Piers Morgan? That proves his innocence to me. Now who are his team? And how comes there is just one person going down?
“He has a team, someone would have had to administer these drugs or steroids. Who are these people?
“Now the only people I know that are next to him is a former fighter and his promoter, so they have to be looked into, the British Boxing Board of Control should look into them.
“And let me tell you this, you think prison is a confined space and you can’t get in and you can’t get out, when Nigel Benn finds out what they’ve done to his son, prison will not even be safe for these guys.
“Listen, Conor is a clean fighter, he doesn’t know what happened to him, all the fighters know.”
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On what he thinks should happen to Conor Benn now
“Whatever happens to Conor, has to happen to his promoter and his trainers.
“If he should be banned, then his whole team should. He could not have administered this to himself.
“If he is to be banned, then the promoter and the team around him has to be banned.
“Personally, I don’t think he is guilty. These young men trust their teams around them.”
On why Eubank Jr lost against Smith
“When someone staggers like that, it means they’ve been looking at bling, money, girls, they think it’s easy.
“And when you think it’s easy, even a fighter of his [Smith’s] calibre can beat you, and do look good doing it.”
On whether Eubank Jr will exact revenge on Smith
“David Haye called me the other day and said he doesn’t spar, he does everything that he wants to do, he’s got ‘yes men’ around him.
“And so it seems to me, by what David Haye said to me, that he’s still not listening and so I don’t know.”
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On Eubank Jr not listening to his advice
“It is arrogance when you shut your ears and what arrogance gets you is what it got him in his last fight.
“The calibre of Liam Smith does not beat Chris Eubank Jr on my watch. I’m no longer there, so I don’t know anymore.”
On Eubank Jr losing to Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves on his watch
“Yes, but if you don’t listen, you’re going to feel. He has never listened.
“You can verify that by the people around him, most certainly Ronnie Davies, who doesn’t lie.
“My son could have been a tremendous fighter, he electrified me when watching him, but he hasn’t because he doesn’t listen and when you don’t listen, then you have to feel.”
On Simon Jordan calling Eubank Jr a charlatan
“In the world of honesty, how can I disagree with you? You can’t have friends in boxing.
“[Long pause after being asked again] I guess my silence says it all. Truth is truth.”
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On if he has a message for Eubank Jr
“Humility means you retract the letter and before you retract it you show the public.
“The truth will set you free. I did not go missing, you sent me away, now when you sent me away, you gave me the ability to go away and live my own life.
“Of course I will accept anything he asks me, but you have to have the humility to ask, Dad is no longer chasing you.”
On what was the best day of his life
“June 5, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II [Platinum Jubilee], my hero, the person who I looked up to, because my mother left.
“She was my beacon, so I pretended that I suppose I would have to behave like Prince Phillip to actually get a woman like this.
“I’ve got to be well-mannered, I can’t use bad language, I’ve got to dress correctly.
“Everyone thinks I’m weird, but I was following The Queen, which is what everyone else was supposed to be following.
“In 2003/04, I did an anti-war protest saying ‘[Tony] Blair, don’t send our young prince to your catastrophic illegal war to make it look plausible.’
“And that was in 2004, she [Queen Elizabeth II] must have been a fan from that particular day, because she was the one who put me on the front of that bus [at the Jubilee].
“The bus of four national treasures, which is AKA, the four buses of superstars, I was at the front.
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“The heavyweight champion at that time [Fury] wasn’t invited. David Beckham wasn’t invited.
“The point I’m making to you, if I’m front and centre, on that bus, the best day of my life, only The Queen, only the person who owns the firm could have put me there, now that should be looked into.
“And the credit I give, is not to me, I give to to Rosa Parks, who was at the back of the bus.
“So that was the best day of my life. Queen Elizabeth II held herself in perfect form for 70 years.
“And when I dress like the Englishman and speak the King’s English, my English, when I show chivalry, when I’m decent in the face of bigotry and racism, they say I’m weird.
“I’m only following what The Queen – my Queen – told me to do. And my parents are from Jamaica!
“So if I’ve done it, and it’s got me all these wins, and has got me to the front of the bus with my friend Sir Cliff Richard to the left and the wonderful Katherine Jenkins to the right, why wouldn’t it be [be the best day of my life]?
“I’m at the front of the bus, only Queen Elizabeth II could have put me there.”
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On the values he learned from Queen Elizabeth II
“All you have to do is look at the beacon that we were given, Queen Elizabeth II, the perfect beacon of how to behave.
“We were supposed to be fixated on The Queen and her behaviour, she said, ‘I don’t make laws, I can’t bring you into battle, but I can give you my heart, I can give you my love.’
“Look into your Queen, that’s how I did what I did.”
