Eddie Hearn and Chris Eubank Jr became embroiled in a bitter war of words in a press conference to promote the latter’s second fight with Conor Benn as Hearn tried to pay tribute to Ricky Hatton
Eddie Hearn branded Chris Eubank Jr “an a***hole” after he refused to let the Matchroom chief pay tribute to Ricky Hatton during a press conference for his upcoming fight with Conor Benn.
News of Hatton’s death at the age of 46 on Sunday sent shockwaves through the world of boxing with tributes pouring in worldwide for ‘The Hitman’. Hearn was among those who have paid homage to one of British boxing’s most popular and accomplished fighters but things turned sour when he asked to speak for ’30 seconds’ about Hatton on Tuesday evening.
As Hearn attempted to speak, Eubank Jr could be heard singing in the background before Hearn said: “Thirty seconds about Ricky Hatton,” only for Eubank Jr to retort: “There’s no 30 seconds”. Hearn the attempted to reason with the Brit but was met with short shrift as Eubank Jr said: “You know the drill, you know the drill”.
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It was at that point that Hearn lashed out at the fighter, saying: “You are some a***hole you are” while Eubank Jr continued to speak in the background. The son of the legendary Chris Eubank then proceeded to say: “Oh I’m the bad guy, I’m this…” as Hearn fired back: “All I was going to do was say a few words about Ricky Hatton” before he was cut off again.
“I don’t want to hear any of your words,” Eubank Jr said in a swipe at Hearn, who concluded: “Okay, I won’t say anything. You’re an a***hole, you talk s*** and you’re going to get what’s coming to you.”
Eubank Jr interrupted Hearn on more than one occasion during the press conference, which was set up to promote Benn and Eubank Jr’s second fight in November. Their first bout ended in victory for Eubank Jr, who outpointed his bitter rival on points with all three judges scoring the fight 116-112 in his favour.
Benn attended the press conference wearing a Manchester City shirt in honour of Hatton, who was a huge City fan and was honoured by the club prior to their 3-0 win over Manchester United in the Manchester derby on Sunday afternoon.
Eubank Jr did pay his own tribute to Hatton on social media following news of his death. “Rest in Peace Mr Ricky Hatton. We salute you,” he wrote.
