LONDON — Chris Eubank Jr. unleashed a host of scathing criticisms on various boxing promoters on Wednesday at the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol prefight news conference, labelling them “scumbags.”
Beterbiev and Bivol will fight on Oct. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the undisputed light heavyweight championship. Bivol, 33, (23-0 12 KOs) holds the WBA light heavyweight belt, while Beterbiev 39, (20-0 20 KOs) is the unified WBO, WBC and IBF champion.
However, it was Eubank, who will fight Kamil Szeremeta on the undercard, who stole the show at the news conference.
Asked why he chose Ben Shalom’s Boxxer as his new promoter, Eubank said: “Because every other promoter up here is a scumbag.”
Sat at the top table were Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, Queensberry’s Frank Warren, Top Rank’s Todd DuBoef and Goldstar’s Spencer Brown.
“Frank Warren behind me has been lying and cheating his way through boxing for the last couple of decades. Sued me for a couple of hundred thousand a few years ago, so obviously I was never going to go with him,” Eubank said.
“Kalle Sauerland [Eubank’s former promoter] had me locked up in a terrible contract for the last few years, squeezing money out of me. Scumbag.”
A visibly stunned Warren interjected: “Speak up; I can’t hear you. Who’s he calling a scumbag?”
Eubank continued: “Eddie Hearn, Frank Smith, they did everything they could to make this fight against Conor Benn knowing that he was on steroids. Scumbags.”
Eubank’s 2022 fight against British rival Benn was cancelled after the latter tested positive for clomiphene, a women’s fertility drug.
“The only promoter I know for sure isn’t a scumbag is Turki Alalshikh. This is a man who isn’t trying to take money from fighters. He isn’t trying to use lawyers and accountants to lock fighters up in slave contracts. … Ben Shalom’s a cool guy too.”
Warren was unimpressed by Eubank Jr.’s comments and told talkSPORT: “He was sued by me for a legal breach of a contract and I was successful in suing him and he paid substantial damages.
“He’s gonna get sued again for the comments that he’s made publicly. He will be sued and he will have a problem over that and anybody else who says it, they can get in that queue.”
The Beterbiev vs. Bivol undercard also features Fabio Wardley’s rematch against Frazer Clarke, with the British heavyweight title on the line once more.
Rising light heavyweight star Ben Whittaker is also on the card, taking on Liam Cameron.
Source: www.espn.com