Press conference fines aren’t uncommon and they don’t usually come cheap either as several big names have found out.
Chris Eubank Jr will look to earn one of the most important wins of his career on April 26 when he competes in a huge grudge match.
There was already a lot of tension between him and his next opponent but Eubank Jr dialled it up when he slapped Conor Benn with an egg at a recent press conference.
As a result, Eubank Jr was handed a huge £100,000 fine which also cancelled their second face-to-face meeting at the following presser.
The fight would have been huge regardless but this moment certainly got fight fans talking about the two men who will finally meet in the ring at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Liam Smith says he wasn’t surprised to see Chris Eubank Jr get a £100,000 fine
Another one of Chris Eubank Jr’s great rivals is Liverpool’s Liam Smith who he recently shared the ring with in back-to-back fights.
After being stopped in the fourth round of their first encounter in January of 2023, Eubank Jr got his revenge over ‘Beefy’ by finishing him in the 10th later that year.
Having not fought since that defeat, Smith is now set to return on the same card as his former opponent where he will take on the undefeated Aaron McKenna.
Smith recently gave his thoughts on the recent press conference antics of Eubank Jr in an interview with TalkSPORT where he was asked whether he had smuggled any eggs into his pockets.
“No mate, I’m not into that. You know what, stuff at press conferences is s—bag material but with it being an egg and we all know the situation of what the egg was for, they were trying to use the first outcome of it was eggs, of the failed drug test. So I just think with it being an egg, it was quite funny. If it was a water bottle or anything else, I’d just think, you s—bag. It was an egg and we know the situation behind the egg so I thought it was quite funny.”
Smith went on to say that the fine that Eubank Jr received wasn’t something that caught him off guard, with ‘Beefy’ referring to the punishment that he was handed following his war of words with the controversial 35-year-old.
“Yeah but not surprised. I got fined a lot of money myself for the press conference with Chris so I didn’t expect nothing less to be honest with you. I just hope the money goes to good use.”
Chris Eubank Jr often plays the role of antagonist
Whilst a lot of people might be standing with Chris Eubank Jr in this fight due to the recent controversy surrounding Conor Benn, that won’t change his approach to the fight.
Eubank Jr has always been the type of fighter who is naturally good at getting under his opponent’s skin whether he’s actively trying to or not.
Against a younger and more aggressive opponent like Benn, a combination of his pre-fight conduct and his elusive fighting style will be used to frustrate ‘The Destroyer’.
Benn’s reaction to the slap shows exactly how Eubank Jr will try to manipulate his rivals emotions before either of them even step through the ropes in London.