Eddie Hearn splits boxing fans with X-rated Chris Eubank Sr jibe as promoter lauds Conor Benn’s performance despite defeat

Boxing fans have been left split by Eddie Hearn’s assessment of Chris Eubank Sr as the promoter lauded Conor Benn’s performance despite his defeat by Chris Eubank Jr.

Eubank Jr beat Benn by unanimous decision in their much anticipated grudge match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. 

All three judges scored the contest 116-112 in Eubank Jr’s favour.

Footage has since been released of Hearn’s post-match comments to Benn, as the Matchroom Boxing promoter hailed his performance in the ring.

Hearn appeared to make a reference to the arrival of Chris Eubank Sr ahead of the fight, which proved among the headline moments of the evening.

Eubank Sr, the former middleweight and super-middleweight world champion, had arrived in support of his son despite claiming initially he would not be attending having called for the contest to be scrapped over health concerns.

Hearn lauded Benn’s performance and composure on the night, despite the distraction of the Eubank’s reuniting and walking into the stadium together. 

‘There were two things that were so impressive,’ Hearn said. ‘The chin, the b****cks, and the composure. It was mental.’

Hearn continued: ‘That f***ing lunatic turning up before the fight, then the whole country f***ing watching.’

The promoter’s apparent reference of Eubank Sr’s arrival at the fight has split fans, with several criticising Hearn’s statement about a boxing legend.

‘No need for Eddie Hearn to call Eubank Sr a “f***ing lunatic” here. Sr turning up is being spoken about as much as the fight itself,’ one said.

‘Have some respect Eddie Hearn. Chris Eubank is a legend in the ring and him turning up only made the fight more iconic and memorable for your fighter,’ another fan wrote. ‘Not a great choice of words Edward, to describe a senior citizen.’

‘Who does Eddie think he is calling a legend like Eubank Sr a lunatic?’ a third wrote.

Hearn, however, was defended by others with one calling claiming more context was needed around the promoter’s comments.

‘To be fair, this is locker room talk in boxing. I’m sure he didn’t mean to insult Sr’s mental health,’ one fan replied.

Eubank Sr had surprisingly arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night alongside his son, with former middleweight champion claiming his his threats to boycott the fight were mere theatre.

‘I back my son no matter what. The egg thing he did? Very disappointed, but I forgave him instantly. And now, he always has to understand you always have to preach that this is not the way we behave as standardbearers, as noblemen,’ Eubank Sr told Mail Sport.

‘The better way for me to explain it is as follows. You have your super conscious mind, which is your spiritual mind, and you have your surface mind, which is your ego mind.

‘The super conscious mind was always coming. The surface mind may not have known but a super conscious mind always knows, always does the right thing, because it’s always graceful, always noble, and always forgiving.’

Earlier this year, Eubank Jr had expressed concerns for his father’s mental health.

Eubank Jr had claimed the death of his brother, Sebastian, who died at the age of 29 on a beach in Dubai in 2021 after suffering a ‘massive heart attack’, had driven a wedge between him and his father.

‘You have the situation with my brother passing away. That affected him in a deep way – it affected all of us. Mental health is a real thing,’ Eubank Jr explained.

‘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 doesn’t seem to have recovered.’

The Eubank’s reunited on Saturday, with Sr lifting his son in the air after he earned victory over Benn. Eubank Sr had beaten Benn’s father Nigel in 1990, before a contentious draw three years later.

Hearn drew the comparison between the two Benns in the dressing room post fight, when praising Conor’s display in front of his father Nigel.

‘Believe me when I say you are a f***ing hero in Britain right now,’ Hearn said. ‘Not just because you went in there, had a go and got chinned.

‘Till the last bell and second of the fight did not stop trying to win the fight. F***ing machine mate.

‘Nige, he might be better than you mate. In all seriousness, it was like watching you, you in trouble, you just fucking all b****cks’.