Chris Eubank Jr warned he will likely be ‘attacked on sight’ after egging Conor Benn in face

Chris Eubank Jr slapped Conor Benn in the face with an egg at a press conference ahead of their grudge match and Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn has warned him there will be consequences

Chris Eubank Jr has been warned he will be “attacked on sight” by Conor Benn after slapping him in the eye with an egg during a press conference face-off.

The two bitter rivals – the sons of boxing royalty and sworn foes Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn – are set to fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26. At a heated press conference in Manchester, Eubank Jr, 35, ambushed Benn, 28, by striking him in the face with an egg.

Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn described the attack as a ‘b**** move’ and suggested it was planned by Team Eubank. In an awkward side-by-side media session with Eubank Jr’s promoter Ben Shalom, Hearn said security would be needed to prevent violence at the next press conference, set for the Tottenham Stadium on Thursday.

Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing, said: “I thought it was glass at first. Whatever it was, it’s hit Conor in the eye. Everything that Eubank does is pre-meditated. He didn’t go into the kitchen this morning, get an egg, not tell anyone what he was going to do and just turn up to the press conference.

“It’s on sight now and the game has changed. If anyone sees Nigel Benn tonight, avoid him. This is what we have got to think about on Thursday now. We need to put provisions in place because it’s attack on sight stuff. Conor is not going to sleep on this and go ‘it’s okay now, don’t worry about it’.

“As soon as he sees Eubank he is going to attack him. It’s our job to make sure we have provisions in place to make sure that doesn’t happen. I said to Shalom ‘if you knew about this, you are a dog’. He said he didn’t and I have to take his word for that, but I don’t believe the team didn’t know about what they were going to do. I think hitting someone around the face with an object is a b**** move.”

The egg attack was a reference to Benn’s previous claims that he failed a drug test due to consuming too many eggs. The pair were first scheduled to fight in October 2022, but it was called off after Benn’s voluntary urine test showed trace amounts of fertility drug Clomiphene, a banned substance that boosts testosterone levels while burning fat.

The World Boxing Council cleared Benn of intentional doping in February 2023, saying his consumption of eggs presented a “reasonable explanation” for his failed test. Benn battled to clear his name and his suspension was lifted in November last year.

The pair were quickly pulled apart following the scuffle, with Benn keen to confront Eubank Jr immediately after the incident. Benn wasn’t shy about expressing his thoughts afterwards, taking to social media to taunt: “That’s the only shot you’ll land on me you f****** prick. Two rounds you are finished.”

Eubank Jr had previously referenced Benn’s egg excuse, stating: “I read a tweet that made me chuckle last week and it kind of summed up what this fight is. The guy said, ‘Chris Eubank Jr is an arrogant f****** prick and I can’t wait until he smashes the eggs out of Conor Benn’. I don’t understand it but that’s the passion we have garnered for this fight.

“Conor, I’ve been meaning to ask, how many eggs did you have to eat to fail those two drug tests? I’ve been racking my brains for a long time, everyone wants to know.”

Benn shot back: “I have been cleared three times… by people a lot smarter than your. One, I have been cleared and two, you will never be cleared of being a w*****.”Shalom claimed he was unaware of Eubank Jr’s plan. He said: “Honestly I don’t know what happened. It was an egg, we can see it was an egg, but I didn’t know what it was at the time. I was in shock at the time like everyone else. It kicked of there… it was a great press conference up till then but I think that was too far.”Earlier, Benn had targeted Eubank Jr’s relationship with his father – who no longer attends his fights. “Chris can say what he wants, but the bottom line is his dad don’t even like him,” Benn said.“You could not pay that man enough money to sit in this man’s corner. Now that’s an accomplishment, Chris. That’s an accomplishment, well done. Most unlikeable geezer on the planet, even your own dad don’t like you.”