‘My brother lost his life from boxing’ – Chris Eubank Sr’s fury over son’s fight v Conor Benn fuelled by tragic death

CHRIS EUBANK SR’s emotional fight against his son’s Conor Benn brawl is fuelled by the tragic death of his brother Simon.

In September 2023, the 61-year-old former fighter passed away, with his 31-year-old undefeated welterweight son Harlem announcing the loss and vowing to do his old man proud.

Chris Eubank Sr fears for his son having lost his brother to boxing

Instagram @harlemeubankSimon Eubank passed away following a battle with frontal lobe dementia after his boxing career[/caption]

Harlem and his British boxing legend of an uncle were united in their grief and are now in agreement that Saturday’s Tottenham fight is unnecessarily dangerous, in an already deadly sport.

Eubank Jr’s best performances, at world title-level, have come in the 12st super-middleweight division, so when he tried to boil down to a 157lbs catchweight limit for the original 2022 clash, he looked emaciated and seriously vulnerable.

Following Benn’s doping scandal that got that original clash kyboshed, Jr must weigh the 11st 6lbs middleweight cap on Friday but he will be fined if he rehydrates more than 10lbs the following morning.

Two-weight world champ Eubank Sr, 58, is not concerned about bolshy former welterweight Benn, son of his two-fight 1990’s rival Nigel, packing muscle on for the beltless cash-grab.

But he fears for his 35-year-old boy boiling down to 160lbs and risking the sort of damage that left his older brother in such an horrific state.

Choking back tears, with nephew Harlem alongside him, Sr told SunSport: “My son probably walks around at around 180lbs and he has to boil himself down to 160lbs.

“People don’t understand what it means for Junior to get down to 160lbs, at his age. They don’t understand the drying out.

“Junior is now 35 and trying to get down to 160lbs and I know what that feels like. I know about the dehydration and the damage it does to fighters.

“I am more concerned about that than anything else. I don’t want my son getting down to 160lbs. And that is why I have spoken about people trying to murder my boy by boiling him down to 157lbs.

“Trying to boil my son down to 157lbs a few years ago, would have killed him.

“You might think the word ‘killed’ is a bit strong but my brother is dead from boxing. 

“He lost his life from boxing, with frontal lobe dementia.

“In the end, Harlem was feeding him with a baby bottle, he had to feed his own father.”

However, the original fight was due to be at 157lbs, with a healthier 160lbs eventually agreed by the promoters.

Eubank Jr’s promoter Ben Shalom told SunSport: “It should have never been at 157. It was irresponsible for everyone involved that we asked Chris Eubank Jr to get 157.

“I almost can’t believe it now, knowing, working with Chris and seeing what his weight’s like 160 is a push.

“Yeah, absolutely crazy that that was ever agreed to but we’re here now. He’ll make the weight and he’ll be ready to go.”

Former middle and super-middle king Eubank Sr is one of the toughest men this country has ever produced, he had to go all the way up to cruiserweight to suffer his only stoppage loss in the 52nd and final fight of the iconic career that earned him millions.

Simon’s fate was far more cruel, he lost 20 tough fights, 11 of them by stoppage, in backwaters like Wisbech, Battersea and Brentford, and he paid the ultimate price.

So when Eubank Sr – who walked a charity mile with his stricken former opponent Michael Watson on April 16 – rallies against anything in boxing, having suffered so much heartache, people should listen.

He told SunSport: “I didn’t have the strength to go and see my brother in the last six months of his life because he was locked in spasm all of the time he was awake.

“That is boxing and 20 losses at the hands of the promoters. 

“It’s a business and a racket and when you keep bringing the same guy in to lose, he ends up being killed.

“He was my brother. It is real for us.”

InstagramSimon was the brother of former super-middleweight and middleweight world champion Eubank Sr[/caption]

Chris Sr and Jr have also had to deal with the shock 2021 death of 29-year-old son and brother Sebastian, who suffered a heart attack just weeks after becoming a father.

When SunSport suggests the end of this toxic three-year saga – and the shared responsibility of helping to raise little Raheem – will help heal their rift, Sr doubles down on his intentions.

“I would be in my son’s corner if he was fighting at the right weight,” he said. “But it mocks everything I stand for and fought for.

“I am a dad. I am a protector, I am trying to steer him in the right direction.

“I am not giving him any bad or wrong advice.

“I am giving him the truth and what works and what will age well.

“I am his dad and the fact he has chosen not to listen means all I can do is step back and watch the car crash – because it will be a car crash.

“He doesn’t understand that this is boxing and you lose your faculties, this is dangerous.

“I warned him three years ago not to do this and now it’s the same again.”

One saving grace for the concerned parent is his lack of faith in Conor Benn’s snarling threats to damage his boy.

It has been three years since Benn’s last knockout win and his last two wins at the super-welterweight limit of 11st were dull decisions.

He explained: “When you want to hurt someone, your energy is halved, you should look to score points and strike with technique.

“If he has all of this spite then it’s hot air.

“When a fighter goes into the ring with dislike, it’s useless.

“He’s had three fights in three years, I used to fight five times a year as a world champion.

“The more you fight the better you are, these are not dangerous men, it’s all built on hype.”

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