Chris Eubank Jr has accused Conor Benn and his team of sabotaging his weight cut, which resulted in a £375,000 fine.
The 35-year-old came in just 0.05lbs over the middleweight limit on Friday morning.
Eubank, the natural middleweight and favourite against the smaller Benn, described the weight cut as especially tough. He blamed Matchroom and Benn’s camp for contributing to the missed target.
“It stings that I was 0.05lbs away from the limit and now I have to pay half a million to someone,” Eubank said. “These are the people you’re dealing with—Matchroom and Benn. They shut down the scales early.”
“I asked if I could go and urinate, but they refused. These are psychological tactics meant to throw you off your game—meant to derail you from the main goal, which is to win the fight.”
Eubank added, “They had an agenda—they were after the money.”
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) regulated the weigh-in, which was also attended by Matchroom representatives, Eubank’s promotional team Boxxer, and Benn’s trainer Tony Simms.
Matchroom declined to respond to Eubank’s claims.
“He was expecting sympathy,” said Benn, “but he’s not getting any from us.”
