Chris Eubank Jr has been told by Eddie Hearn that he will have to retire if he pulls out of his fight with Conor Benn on the advice of his dad.
The two legends' sons will reignite British boxing's most notorious feud when they meet at The O2 arena on October 8, with the pair both making major weight concessions to force the bout through. Eubank Jr will hit a career-low weight on 157lb, while Benn jumps up essentially two divisions.
However, Eubank Jr apparently doesn't have the same support from his dad that his rival does, with Eubank Sr telling the Daily Mail that he plans to pull his son out of the fight. The boxer has since insisted he turned down his father's advice, and the bout will go ahead.
And Hearn, who is Benn's promoter and will put on the show with the Sauerland brothers of Wasserman Boxing, believes it would be irreparably damaging to Eubank's credibility if he were to take his dad's advice. Speaking with the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel, he explained his position and promised that the fight will happen.
"I can clear it up, it's not true," Hearn explained. "As Kalle [Sauerland] said, the contract is with Chris Eubank Jr, he has no intention of pulling out of the fight which I think would cripple his credibility. I think he would have to retire if he did and he doesn't want to pull out.
"He's getting a massive payday, he's very confident about the fight. You saw the quotes from Ronny Davies [Eubank Jr's trainer] last night who said the weight is good. The British Boxing Board of Control have been checking his weight, I wouldn't be too phased by the KFC buckets and some dessert I saw today."
Hearn continued to explain he doesn't believe Eubank Jr will necessarily just take on whatever his father tells him. He even argues that the major disadvantage is Benn moving up such a drastic amount, as opposed to Eubank Jr having to lose so much.
Who do you think wins between Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"Chris Eubank Jr is a professional and he knows what he signed up for," he continued. "I think he's made 158-point-something before, it's not a brutal, brutal weight cut. The disadvantage here is for Conor Benn, not Chris Eubank. Yeah, he's got to come down a couple of pounds, or a pound-and-a-half lower than he's ever been - Conor Benn's got to move up 10lb!
"I know that's not going to be brutal in terms of a weight cut, but he's fighting a much, much bigger man so the disadvantage and danger, I feel, is actually with Conor Benn. So yeah, no doubts in that fight, October 8 you're going to see one of the biggest fights the country has ever witnessed.
"Everybody's talking about it, this is just another plot-twist to Eubank-Benn 3 if that's what you want to call it. Everybody's on board, everybody's ready for a huge fight."
