By Sam Brookes

Copyright independent

Chris Eubank Sr shocked the boxing world when he reunited with his son on fight night for his grudge match with Conor Benn earlier this year.

Chris Eubank Jr had not been on speaking terms with his father for years and was expected to walk into battle alone in north London.

But, despite branding his son a “disgrace’ for taking the fight with Benn just days earlier, Eubank Sr showed up to walk his son to the ring and then watched on alongside his old rival, Nigel Benn, as their sons went to war for 12 rounds.

Eubank Jr and Benn served up a modern-day thriller, with the former prevailing on points, and a rematch has now been scheduled for November 15.

The launch press conference for their second fight will take place on Wednesday, but will Eubank Sr be by his son’s side?

Let’s take a look back at how their father-son relationship has developed over the years, and the likelihood of them walking in together on Wednesday.

When Eubank Jr turned professional in 2011, fans were eager to see exactly how good he was and whether his father would be heavily involved in his career.

After all, Eubank Sr won world titles in two weight classes and had plenty of wisdom to pass on.

Eubank Jr went somewhat under the radar early on, fighting in leisure centres to build his experience, but his father was with him every step of the way.

Eubank Sr would often be seen sat at ringside watching his son intently, and he even moved into the corner for some of his fights to offer advice.

Eubank Jr had his father’s old trainer Ronnie Shields guiding him, but it was his dad who seemed to have the greater influence, and he was not afraid to make bold statements about his son’s potential.

As he moved to 18-0, Eubank Jr was hailed as Britain’s version of Floyd Mayweather by his father. It was a big claim as Eubank Jr headed into the first major test of his career against domestic foe Billy Joe Saunders.

Eubank Jr and Saunders faced each other for the European, Commonwealth and British titles in November 2014 and there was genuine animosity between the pair.

It was Saunders who dominated the first half of the contest with his boxing skills, but Eubank Jr came on strong as the fight went the distance.

Saunders earned the nod via split decision, handing Eubank Jr his first professional loss.

He responded well by winning his next eight fights to set up a world title shot against George Groves in the semi-finals of the World Boxing Super Series.

Eubank Jr appeared to have learned from his mistakes against Saunders and many were backing him to have his coming-of-age night, including his father.

But, once again, Eubank Jr started slowly and allowed Groves to build up an insurmountable lead on the scorecards as he slipped to another points defeat.

Eubank Sr was unimpressed, and when his son took on James DeGale the following year, he admitted he was “not convinced” Eubank Jr would win.

This time, Eubank Jr did step up to the plate to pick up a points victory, but the cracks in the relationship with his father had started to appear.

Just two fights after beating DeGale, tragedy struck for the Eubank family.

Eubank Jr’s brother, Sebastian, died in July 2021 after suffering a “massive heart attack” in Dubai.

Sebastian’s passing hit the family hard, and Eubank Sr moved away from the public spotlight while he grieved the loss of his son.

Eubank Jr fought on and later revealed that he was no longer in contact with his dad after writing a letter to tell him that he wanted to take control of his own career.

Now making his own decisions, Eubank Jr agreed to take a fight with Conor Benn in 2022 at a catchweight of 157lbs.

It was a weight he had never made before as a professional, and with a rehydration clause also written into the contract, there were concerns over Eubank Jr’s health.

His father was particularly vocal, as he claimed allowing the fight to go ahead would be “attempted murder”.

In the end, the fight was cancelled on fight week after Benn failed two drugs tests, but Eubank Sr had already made it clear he was furious with the path his son was heading down.

After his fight with Benn fell through, Eubank Jr clashed with another Brit in Liam Smith.

Their first fight went disastrously wrong as Eubank Jr was knocked out inside four rounds, but he exacted revenge eight months later by stopping Smith in the 10th round.

A further knockout win over Kamil Szeremeta followed, and, after Benn was cleared to fight again, the grudge match with Eubank Jr was arranged for April 2025.

Eubank Jr smashed an egg into Benn’s face at the launch press conference for the fight – a reference to Benn initially blaming eating too many eggs for his positive drugs tests – as tensions mounted.

Despite the bout being agreed at the middleweight limit of 160lbs, Eubank Sr still wasn’t happy. He labelled the fight a “disgrace” and hit out at his son’s behaviour as he called for the fight to be cancelled again.

As the fight drew nearer, he insisted he would not be attending.

Benn and his team arrived first on fight night in April and made their way to his dressing room.

Shortly afterwards, a taxi pulled up and out stepped Eubank Jr from the far side. As the near side door opened, a grinning Eubank Sr appeared on camera.

The crowd erupted as the Eubanks made their way into the stadium together after spending years apart.

Eubank Sr would later explain how he reached out to his son the night before the fight to tell him he wanted to be there for him and even disguised himself for a face-to-face meeting just hours before the first bell.

The two men walked to the ring together and an inspired Eubank Jr then produced one of the performances of his career to outpoint Benn.

He had seemed out on his feet at times after missing weight the previous day but somehow summoned up the energy to get his hand raised.

An extremely proud Eubank Sr embraced his son after the official result was announced and praised Eubank Jr for his “legendary behaviour” in the ring.

In the aftermath of his win over Benn, Eubank Jr was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, and his father was by his bedside until he was released a couple of days later.

Eubank Jr has since revealed his relationship with his father has only gone from strength to strength.

However, he admitted on Loose Women last month that Eubank Sr is still “worried” about the rematch.

He added that he expects his father to be “a lot more supportive” this time around, but will he be at the top table on Wednesday?

Eubank Jr was happy to take on Conor and Nigel Benn plus promoter Eddie Hearn on his own in the build-up to the first fight.

Having his father sat next to him on Wednesday would bring a new dynamic for the rematch and could get the juices flowing for what’s to come when Eubank Jr and Benn step between the ropes again in November.

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