Undercard fighters thank ‘man of his word’ Chris Eubank Jr for cash boost

By PA Sport staff

Chris Eubank Jr has fulfilled a vow to pay fighters who had been scheduled to box on the undercard of his cancelled bout against bitter rival Conor Benn.

The British pair are next Saturday due to settle their long-standing grudge dating back to October 2022, when Benn’s two failed drug tests led to the entire card being scrapped just days beforehand.

Benn had a provisional suspension lifted last November, paving the way for him to fight in the United Kingdom again and finally face Eubank Jr in a high-stakes middleweight contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But Eubank Jr has not forgotten the fallout from their original contest being called off and revealed plans to put away money from his latest purse for the undercard fighters from two-and-a-half years ago.

He posted an apparent screenshot of the payments to 10 fighters – including his cousin Harlem and Ellie Scotney, now a unified world super-bantamweight champion – who were each given just over £3,500 each.

Scotney – who had been due to face Mary Romero for the European super-bantamweight title, a bout that instead went ahead three weeks later – confirmed Eubank’s payment.

She wrote on X: “Just checked my Eu-BANK statement and Chris was as good as his word. Thank you. Ahh honestly what a gesture by @ChrisEubankJr.”

Light-heavyweight Lyndon Arthur wrote: “Gotta respect Eubank junior he actually paid what he said he would off the under card from the 1st one.”

Former WBA bantamweight champion Shannon Courtenay posted on social media: “Man of his word. Thank you Chris Eubank Jnr.”