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Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn were separated by security during a run-in at a hotel on Thursday, new footage has revealed.
On Saturday, Eubank Jr will fight Kamil Szeremeta on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s undisputed title fight in Saudi Arabia. But Benn, whom Eubank Jr was due to face in 2022, drew his fellow Briton’s attention in Riyadh on Thursday (10 October).
Footage released on Friday showed Eubank Jr and Benn trading words at the main fighter hotel, with Benn shoving his rival and launching numerous expletives at him. Security kept the pair separated throughout.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, after the fight,” Benn said. “I’ll f***ing give it to you. Yeah, of course, mate. You’re f***ing lucky you’re fighting tomorrow.”
Benn then shoved Eubank Jr, who remained calm during the altercation. “I’ll f*** you up,” Benn continued. “Watch what happens, dead boy walking.
“I’ll give you a good ass-beating in front of 60,000, that’s what’s gonna happen. I’ll be there tomorrow, arrogant p***k.”
Eubank Jr and Benn were due to fight one another in October 2022, almost three decades after their fathers – Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn – clashed for the second and final time in their historic rivalry. However, it was revealed on the week of the fight that Conor Benn had failed two drug tests. The bout was subsequently cancelled, and Benn continues to serve a suspension, though he and Eubank Jr have remained linked ever since.
A National Anti-Doping panel lifted Benn’s suspension in 2023, but the British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) successfully appealed that decision. The ban was thus reinstated, although Benn suggested in September that it could come to an end this month.
“I’ve been [proving my innocence],” Benn told Sky Sports in September. “Forget the narrative that’s being pushed. I was cleared a year-and-a-half ago by the people who had done the test.
“I had passed all my Ukad [tests] during that same period. So, their authority I had passed. [Critics] say I haven’t done this, I haven’t done that, but the reality is I’ve gone through every avenue possible to do that.
“This is something I’m willing to fight for and have fought for, and I’m glad it’s coming to an end. I haven’t bent, I haven’t swayed on the truth, and that’s all that matters to me: my integrity.
“I couldn’t accept the ban. If I ain’t done something, I won’t raise my hand to it. Never this! I stay true in what I believe in, and the easy option would be, ‘Yeah, I’ll just take this,’ [but I] continue to fight and spend hundreds of thousands, missing out on big opportunities.”